A Camping We Will Go
by rookiegirl
Summary: Danger awaits our boys in blue and their darling damsels when a relaxing weekend getaway turns into a fight for survival. They are in for a rock solid adventure. Crossover Adam-12/Emergency Co-story with malloysgirl.
1. Chapter 1

_Authors note: _

_It has been a long and busy summer and fall, for both malloysgirl and myself. We had originally planned to have this story finished and posted by the end of July, for_ _timeline purposes. Life threw both of us vicious curveballs. Between kids graduating and going off to college, job-related issues, family health issues, and everyday life, in general, our posting timeline suffered immensely. _

_Alas, along with the frustrating and emotional events that derailed our timeline, there were some spectacular experiences, as well. Both of us managed to enjoy wonderful vacations and we were actually able to meet and spend some time getting to know one another. My husband and I had made our vacation plans in early March; our vacation was planned for late July. After talking with malloysgirl, it was discovered that we were vacationing in her neck of the woods. It was a no-brainer that we would take the opportunity to meet; after all, we had already struck up a wonderful e-mail and phone friendship. _

_Though our visit with malloysgirl and her family was a short one, it is an experience that I will always treasure. Our husbands hit it off fabulously, and we have been discussing future visits, with them visiting our area, and us re-visiting their area. _

_What an awesome experience it was to not only be able to meet a fellow writer, but to be able to strike up such a wonderful friendship with someone sharing the love of writing about our favorite television characters from the past. I have had the pleasure developing several e-mail friendships through this love of writing, and I treasure each and every one of those friendships._

_In essence, on behalf of malloysgirl and myself, I would like to thank the creators and writers of Adam-12 and Emergency, as well as the actors that brought our favorite characters to life. I would also like to thank the forces behind the Fan Fiction website. Without all of these entities coming together, we never would have had the opportunity to meet and develop such a wonderful friendship. Thank you, to all involved._

_rookiegirl_

_Disclaimer: We do not own the licensed characters in the following story, we have only borrowed them from their creators for the purpose of creating what we hope will be an entertaining story for all to enjoy._

When we last left our favorite crime fighting duo, the guys of Adam-12 and their paramedic pals from Station 51, had decided to take their wonderful wives on a relaxing camping trip; little did they know that the trip would be anything but wonderful. Join us as danger awaits our boys in blue and their darling damsels when a relaxing weekend getaway turns into a fight for survival. They are in for a rock solid adventure. Crossover Adam-12/Emergency

_(For story background, refer to The Breaking Point, on the Emergency fan fiction site, posted under the pen name of malloysgirl_.)

A Camping We Will Go

"So, how far away is this campground that we are going to?" Jillian asked, to any one of the other three occupants of the vehicle. She and Pete were with Jim and Jean, in the Reed's sedan. They were going to meet up with Johnny, April, Roy and Leah, at Johnny and April's ranch, and then follow them to the campsite.

"Uh, Pete…you want to take this one?" Jillian and Jean had both been full of questions since leaving the Reed residence nearly fifteen minutes ago. It was only a twenty-minute drive from their house to the ranch and already the women had asked at least thirty questions between them. Pete and Jim had been taking turns fielding the questions.

"Thanks a lot, partner." Pete let out a sigh and then slightly turned in the front seat so that he could see Jillian and Jean in the back seat. He wanted to gauge their reaction to his answer. "It's up near the Red Rock Canyon area, about two hours Northeast of Los Angeles. It's not exactly a campground…it's more of a…a…wilderness site; wouldn't that be what you'd call it, Jim?" Pete turned his eyes toward his partner.

"I'd say that's a pretty accurate description from what Johnny told us…matter of fact, I think 'wilderness site' was his exact terminology."

Pete cast a glance at the two women in the back seat and both were shooting daggers at their husbands.

Jean was the first to speak, "A wilderness site…that doesn't sound like someplace with a shower facility…or a bathroom. Tell us that you're joking."

Neither man spoke, as Pete turned back around in the front seat so that he couldn't see the women's faces.

"Jean…they ain't joking. They are taking us out in the middle of nowhere! Pete, is this someplace that Johnny has camped before? Is it safe?"

"Jim, are you sure we should be going out into the wilderness where nobody will know where we are at? What if…"

"Relax, Jean. It's safe; Johnny's been out there before and it's not that far out of civilization. Besides, we have three vehicles going out there so we're covered in an emergency. Quit worrying."

"I'll quit worrying, Jim…but I still don't like it."

"It'll be fine, Honey, you'll see." Jim reiterated as he cast the women a glance in the review mirror.

Not hearing from Jillian, Pete figured that he'd better turn around and see what she had to say about the matter. "Sunshine? You okay with this, too? You're awfully quiet all of the sudden."

Jillian held up her hand, "I'm okay with it as long as there aren't any bears or ferociously wild animals that are going to come calling in the middle of the night! I absolutely refuse to be a late night snack for some wild beast before I've even had the chance to relish in the joys of motherhood, Pete Malloy!"

"Well…I don't THINK there are…" and then seeing the looks that he was getting from both women, once again, "Okay, okay…there aren't. I promise!" _God, help us all if I'm wrong!_

A few minutes later, they were pulling into the driveway leading up to Johnny and Aprils' house. Roy and Leah's pick up was already there, with the rowboat in the back. Jim turned the car around and pulled in behind the truck. The four got out of the vehicle, and as the women went into the house to help with last minute food packing, the guys sought out Johnny and Roy in the barn area, where the camping gear was stored.

In the Gage's kitchen…

"Hi April, hi Leah. Is there anything that we can help pack up?" Jillian asked as she and Jean entered the kitchen to find April and Leah packing up boxes of food items.

"Hi girls! You made it, Leah here bet me five bucks that one of you would back out on us."

Leah smiled "guess I just didn't have any faith that you two would want to wilderness camp when Jim and Pete told you about it last week. Why don't you hand us those cans of beans over by the pantry?"

"Oh? Well, Pete failed to mention 'wilderness camp' when he sprung this on me...he just said a camping trip." Jillian handed Leah the beans.

"That's what Jim told me, too. I think those two are in cahoots and knew what we'd say."

"Uh-huh, and what do you want to bet that they were both holding their breath in the car, just praying that we wouldn't ask where we were going camping!"

April couldn't help but snicker just a bit. "You mean they didn't tell you it was wilderness so you could pack...well, necessities?"

Leah and April could tell by the confused looks on the girls' faces that they weren't quite sure what April was asking them, but they quickly caught on with Leah's next question. "April, don't you keep the extra toilet tissue in the hall closet? From the looks we're getting, we probably need to pack for more, shall we say, 'guests'."

Turning to Jean, Jillian crossed her arms and said, "I don't know what you're thinking right now, but I know one man that is going to get a piece of my mind, and all the while, I'll be taking a chunk out of his behind. He'll be wishing for a wild bear to come calling, just to bail his fanny out of this one!"

"Oh, believe me, Jim will be getting a piece of my mind, too...that's for sure!"

The snickers that Leah and April were trying to hold in had broken into roaring laughter at this point. "Leah! You might want to grab the extra first aid kit too, while you're at it; Jim and Pete might need it!"

Amidst the laughter in the hallway they heard "You got it!"

April then tried to show them some sympathy, "look Jill, Jean, you'll be fine; Leah and I go with our guys all the time, we're old pros at this."

Leah re-entered the kitchen with the important supplies, "April's right; besides if it were going to be that bad, do you think that she would go with being pregnant? It'll be fine, and fun, we promise."

Both Jillian and Jean let out groans and began to laugh at the situation their husbands had managed to get them into.

"You know, Jillian, take it from an old married pro...you can hold this over Pete's head for a very, very long time. Poor Jim is still paying for things that he did in our first year of marriage!" All of the women were laughing now.

"So basically, what you are telling me is that our guys are probably expecting us to be upset with them, right? Well, maybe we'll just have to catch a few flies with honey instead of vinegar...that'll make 'em sweat, just waiting for the other shoe to drop! That's almost better than having a shower and bathroom facilities...is there at least an outhouse, or do you just...you know...go...oh this is embarrassing...go squat in the woods?"

"Jillian there are some questions that are just better not to ask ahead of time, but since you did, the answer is 'yes' that is exactly what you do, only very carefully."

"What Leah means is that always look before you, you know, because you never know what might be behind your behind."

Jillian rolled her eyes, "Okay, now that was just a really bad play on words, ladies...and you're right...I'm sorry I asked." And then turning to Jean, "Well Jean, what d'ya think? Are we up to this?"

"I'm game if you are, Jillian...but Jim's still not going to be out of the doghouse that easily!"

"Oh, I never said that Pete's off the hook...but he doesn't need to know that until I want him to know that!"

About that time the door opened "don't need to know about what?"

All the girls got quiet until April broke silence "Oh nothing Johnny, we were just plotting a little fishing competition but we weren't going to tell you guys about it." The girls shot each other a glance while trying to hide the smiles on their faces.

"Uh-huh, I bet. Look, are you all ready? We're loaded up out here."

"What's taking so long?" Roy questioned as he then came into the kitchen.

Leah went a put her arms around his waist and planted a big kiss on his cheek, "We're almost ready, the food is packed so you can take these boxes but give us 5 more minutes. I think the girls would like to make one last pit stop before we hit the road." and the ladies of the room erupted with laughter.

Confused Johnny asked, "What's so funny?"

"Don't ask, Johnny, when will you learn when the girls are obviously up to something, just don't ask; grab a box and let's just go wait in the truck." Roy grabbed Johnny's sleeve and pulled him back towards the door as the laughter grew louder in the kitchen.

"Well I know that you aren't going to have to twist my arm to get me to use the little girls' room one last time before we head out!" Jean exclaimed.

"Ditto! You know, there are a lot things that I miss when I go on vacation, but somehow I never thought that a toilet would be on that list!" Jillian added, causing another round of snickers and giggles from the women.

After taking care of business in the house the girls filed out the door locking it behind them to find the guys outside putting the finishing packing touches on the gear.

"Johnny what is that box of straps and ropes for?" Jillian wanted to know.

Pete put his arm around her and pulled her close to his side "That is rock climbing equipment."

"You mean we have to climb rock to get to this wilderness site?" Jean asked Jim, adding to her thoughts that this trip was going to be a bit much.

"No Honey, Johnny was just showing us the equipment and said that he and Roy could show us some techniques. It's something that I've always wanted to try."

"Not on your life, Mister! You have enough danger around you with your feet on the ground, I don't want you dangling from a rope off the side of a mountain."

Leah smiled at her friend, "Jean it's not like that, and the equipment is very safe and he will be with experienced climbers."

"You mean you don't mind Roy climbing like this? I mean isn't it dangerous?" Jillian asked.

"No, I don't mind because usually I'm right up there beside him."

Jean was surprised, "Leah you climb? April do you rock climb too?"

"Oh no! Not me! You couldn't get me off the ground on a rope and believe me Johnny has tried his best to talk me into it; besides I have a good excuse this time with the baby, I don't have to try."

"You're right honey, this time you're off the hook. Look girls we wouldn't put Pete and Jim in any danger. We wouldn't do this if it wasn't safe and it is an incredible feeling."

Roy proudly put his arm around Leah, "Besides you might want to try it sometime and Leah could teach you, she finished first in her class in the rock climbing competition at the Topanga Canyon Competition."

"Are you serious?" Jillian was learning more about her friend.

Leah smiled, "Yes, I'm serious. I love climbing with Roy, we are each others line spotters and belayers; why don't you give it some thought while we are on the road and then Jean, you, Jim and Pete can decide if you want to give it a try."

"That sounds like a good idea, we have a while before we get there; besides Jillian, you're off the hook too, Mommy." Pete smiled.

The group began to divide up into the vehicles and head out, following Johnny to their great outdoor adventure.

After driving for a little over two hours, the caravan of vehicles turned off of the main road and onto a narrow dirt road leading up into the wooded mountainside. By the time the fifteen-minute bumpy ride was over, Jillian couldn't wait to visit the little girls' wilderness.

Groaning as she got out of the car, Jillian excused herself and started for the woods, time being of the essence.

Pete called out, "Sunshine, do you want me to come with you?"

Stopping abruptly and turning to face him, "Pete, Honey, I love you…but there are just some things that we don't need to do together…ever."

"I was just going to keep a lookout for rattlesnakes…"

Looking startled at Pete's words, "You know, I don't think I need to take that trip into the woods right now, after all." Jillian turned to head back toward the group, looking a little miserable.

"Honey, I'm just kidding…no rattlesnakes, I promise." She could see the orneriness in Pete's eyes as he spoke.

"Just the same…I think I'm fine for now."

Pete chuckled as he walked over to where the other three guys had sauntered off to, strategically planning where they were going to pitch the four two-man tents.

Jillian wandered over to where Leah, April and Jean were standing. Looking around, she directed her question to Leah and April, "Well Ladies, you're the experts at this wilderness thing…where do we start with making camp?"

"I can't believe that you're just ready to jump right into this, Jillian…I'm still a little upset that Jim didn't tell me what we were getting into."

Blowing out an exaggerated breath and trying not to show her thinning patience, "Jean, I grew up trying all kinds of things that I never thought I'd like or even want to try. This can't be any worse than some of the other stuff I've done in the name of adventure; and that's exactly what I am considering this to be…an adventure; just as long as both of my feet can stay firmly planted on the ground, that is!"

"Good! It really will be fun, Jean." Leah exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"And just think, no housework or worries for a whole weekend…that's the best part!" April added.

Laughing at her friends' cahjohling, "All right you three, but if I see one bear, one snake, or anything else that looks like it wants to devour me, I'm outta here, got it!"

"Deal!" All three said at the same time.

"Okay, first things first, April, why don't you and Jillian go find some small pieces of kindling for fire starters. Jean, see if you can find some small to medium sized rocks for around and in the fire pit. The rocks around it can be a little bigger, to help give the fire boundaries; the rocks inside will let air circulate around the wood. I'll start digging the fire pit." The ladies set out to the assigned tasks that Leah had divvied out to them.

They guys were busy, working two and two, setting up the tents surrounding the center of the campsite. Each couple only had to walk about ten feet outside of their tent in order to get to the fire pit.

Jillian and April set off into the wooded area surrounding the campsite. Seeing that there was an over abundance of small sticks and twigs that were perfect for use as fire starters, the two began to gather as many as they could comfortably carry.

"April, I've built enough campfires to know that these twigs aren't going to last long once the fire gets going, so what's the plan for feeder wood?"

"Oh, don't worry about that; Johnny always brings along enough to get through the first couple of meals and then we just gather more…there's always dead trees down in these woods; we'll have enough, you'll see."

Nodding her head, Jillian stayed on task with picking up random sticks and twigs.

"So Jillian, how are you feeling these days?" April asked.

"BIG!" Jillian laughed as she gave her exaggerated answer.

"Big? You're not much bigger than this stick!" April was holding up a skinny twig.

"Okay, maybe 'big' isn't the right word…how about clumsy and extremely ungraceful, then? How about you; are you feeling okay this time around?"

"Oh I'm feeling great! I get a little tired by the end of the day, what with running after the three little ones, but I sleep very well at night!"

"Yeah, I know what you mean…and I don't have any little ones to run after; I hit the pillow and before I know it, the alarm is going off! Honestly, there are some nights that I don't even remember closing my eyes and the next thing I know, it's time to get up!"

Laughing at her friends' exaggerations, April said, "Just wait until the two a.m. feeding frenzies! Honestly, with Drew, I don't think I've had an uninterrupted nights sleep since he was born!" Seeing the look on her friends' face, "Oh, sorry Jillian, I'm not trying to scare you!"

"Don't worry, April, you're not scaring me. I was just thinking…it's already mid August…in just four months, Pete and I are going to be parents…" Jillians' voice was filled with awe at the realization!

"Yeah, and just think, in just three and a half months, Drew will be a big brother!"

The two women shared a smile with each other and then continued to gather the twigs, each quietly lost in their own thoughts.

Back at the campsite, Jean had found several nice size rocks in order to border the fire pit, along with a few extras for in the bottom of the pit. Leah had just finished digging the pit and was strategically placing the rocks around and in it.

A short time later, April and Jillian came back and unloaded their armloads of sticks and twigs in a neat pile a few feet from the fire pit before setting out to collect more.

"Wait up, girls, I'll go with you unless Leah needs me to do anything else…" Jean stated.

"No, go ahead Jean, I'm finished with the fire pit and we'll leave the food in the cars…to ward off any unwanted visitors. I'll see if the guys need help with the tents or anything else."

***************

Leah, Roy, Johnny, Pete and Jim had decided to take a short hike and scout out the best area for their rock climbing expedition the next day. Though they were invited along for the hike, Jillian, April, and Jean had decided that they would stay back at the camp and start the fire, along with the dinner preparations. With not having had any time to fish for their dinner that day, supper was going to consist of roasted hot dogs and campfire baked beans.

"What time did they say that they would back from rock climbing?" Jean wanted to know.

"They aren't climbing today, just looking for the best spot to head for tomorrow, so they should be back within the hour, I would imagine." Jillian answered.

"Yeah, it won't take them long to find the perfect spot. Leah can sniff out a good place to climb within a ten mile radius." April offered.

"Well they have already been gone for almost an hour, now." Jean interjected.

"Jean, will you hand me a few more of the twigs, I want to lay a good foundation of starters so that the fire will take."

"Sure thing, Jillian." Jean reached down and picked up a handful of sticks, placing them in the crook of her arm; she then leaned down and was just about to pick up a second handful of the twigs when one of the sticks started to slither its' way up her arm. Simultaneously, Jean let out a scream and threw the sticks in the air, causing them to fly in every direction.

Jillian and April both jumped when Jean began to shriek.

"JEAN! WHAT'S WRONG?" Jillian yelled, trying to be heard above the screaming.

"A SNAKE! There was HUGE snake in those sticks! OH, I HATE THIS!" Jean was still squirming and ranting, when suddenly, the others, having heard the screams, came running into the camp, eyes wild with fear that something had happened to the girls.

Pete was the first to speak. "What's going on? What happened?"

Jim had run over to Jean and was holding her, trying to get her to calm down and talk to him. She was still ranting and her eyes were shooting daggers at poor Jim.

Johnny stood next to April, who was trying to tell him what Jean was screaming about, but couldn't, as she didn't trust her voice to speak just yet. Thinking about how comical it looked when Jean threw the sticks in the air, it was all April could do to keep from laughing.

Roy and Leah stood off to the side, looking on with amusement at Jillian, who had knelt down next to the frightened snake and was picking it up with a stick and looking intently at it.

"Sunshine? What are you doing?" Pete asked in a concerned voice, not getting too close to Jillian and the snake.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm bonding."

Pete's eyebrows shot a mile high. "You're WHAT? Put that thing down before it bites you…or sics you, or whatever it's going to do."

"Oh Pete, don't be such a worry wart, it's just a harmless garter snake and all I am trying to do is to determine what species that it is. If memory serves me correctly, I believe this species is common on the West Coast; don't worry, it won't hurt you…but it's probably frightened out of it's skin with all of the racket going on, though."

"Well I don't want it in our campsite…throw it away!" Jean ordered, before burying her face into Jim's chest. He put his arms around her and held her tightly, while looking on helplessly.

"C'mon Pete, you can walk into the woods with me and we'll find a nice little bush to place it under…but it will probably come back tonight, seeking the heat of the fire, or the sleeping bags." This last part she said quietly, out of earshot from Jean.

"You can't put it in the woods! We have to go in there to…you know!" Jean exclaimed.

"Take it to the 'little boys' side of the woods." Roy threw in, causing a round of chuckles from all of the men. The women knew better than to laugh because they could see that Jean was still pretty shaken.

Jillian felt bad for her friend so she handed the snake entangled stick to Pete, as she deadpanned "here Pete, you go find it a new home. I'm not going to the 'little boys' woods…after all, everyone knows that the men's room is always filthy and germ laden!" Her line had the desired effect as Jean began to laugh along with everyone else.

Reluctantly, Pete took the snake from her and headed off into the woods, muttering as he went, "If I'm not back in a few minutes, you'd better send in the reinforcements." A round of chuckles followed. A few minutes later, Pete was back. He told everyone that he had found a nice little wild rose bush, just inside the little boy's wilderness trail, and he placed the snake underneath it.

A short while later, the four couples sat around the campfire eating hot dogs and baked beans while making small talk that centered around families, fishing, and rock climbing.

Much to Jim's relief, Jean had since recovered from the snake scare and was exhibiting signs of enjoying being out in the wilderness and sharing time with her friends. She even took the initiative to ask Jim to go for a little stroll with her after dinner; a request that he readily agreed to.

The three remaining couples sat around the fire sipping coffee and passing the time with chitchat.

Johnny, still picturing Jillian holding the snake and studying it, said, "You know, Jill, I'm impressed."

Jillian looked at Johnny questioningly, "Impressed with what, Johnny?"

"The whole bit with the snake. I know a lot of guys that wouldn't go within twenty feet of a snake, and here you go and pick the darned thing up and study it!"

Pete, who was in the midst of taking a sip of coffee, nearly choked as he began chuckling,

"Hmph…you should see her with mice and worms!"

Four pairs of eyes landed on Jillian as she elbowed Pete in the ribs and muttered in his ear, "Watch it buddy…you're within a stone's throw of NOT sharing my sleeping bag tonight!" Her smile left no doubt in his mind that she was only joking with him and that she had every intention of cuddling in the cool night air.

Pete quickly put his arm around her and flashed her a smile that said he was looking forward to some cuddling as well. "Mmmm…is that so? We'll just have to see about that."

Jillian decided that it was time to change the subject. "So, Leah, tell me a little more about this rock climbing business."

"Well Jillian, it really is a lot of fun, and it really is a lot safer than you think. Maybe after the baby is born, you'll want to give it a try."

Jillian visibly shuddered, "No, I don't think so. My sense of adventure doesn't include anything that has me airborne…unless I am safely strapped in to the seat of an airplane, that is!"

"Have you always been afraid of heights?" April asked.

Thinking back to her childhood, Jillian shook her head and said, "No, I don't think so. I can remember climbing out onto the rooftop a couple of times, and getting stuck up in a tree once or twice. There wasn't a whole lot that I wouldn't try when I was younger. For some reason, I was a lot more brave then…or maybe just too young to recognize danger. Anyway, we used to have a tree house that I would go up into and spend hours just playing. None of those things ever bothered me until…" And then, as if a light bulb went off, "until the time when I was eight and I was up playing in that tree house and a really bad storm whipped up suddenly. I remember that when I tried to climb down the ladder, my foot slipped off of the top rung and I fell."

"Oh my gosh, did you get hurt?" Leah asked.

"I didn't break anything, but I did get pretty bruised and skinned up. It scared me enough that I never climbed up that tree house ladder again…" Jillian's voice had trailed off as she zoned off into her own thoughts; _Maybe it's not heights I'm afraid of, maybe it's just ladders…and the fear of falling off of them._

Almost echoing her thoughts, Pete pulled her a little closer and said, "Maybe it's just ladders that you are afraid of, and not heights, then."

"You know, you could have a good point, Pete." Roy interjected. "Jillian, maybe you are just associating the pain of falling off of the ladder and getting hurt, with the fear of heights. Maybe if you climbed up a ladder and back down again, without falling, you'd be okay."

Jim and Jean had come back to the fire by this time and had heard most of the conversation. "Maybe after the baby, you'll want to try that." Jim added.

Giving a thoughtful glance at Pete, Jillian shook her head and said, "No, I don't think that's such a good idea. After all, if I get over my fear of heights, or ladders, as the case may be, then Pete would expect me to do ALL of the painting whenever we do buy a house. I just couldn't bring myself to rob him of the joys of painting…especially after I have heard from Jean what a hard time he gives Jim about painting on days off!"

The group shared a laugh over that as Pete gave Jillian a gentle kiss on the cheek, "Ha, ha, Sunshine…you are just feeling too funny tonight, aren't you?"

Jillian flashed him a smile and a look that said 'too funny' isn't all that I'm feeling right now, as she got up, she gave a forced yawn and said, "I think on that note, I am going to turn in…I am bushed. Are you coming to bed SOON, Pete?"

Seeing the look that she was giving him, Pete jumped up and stretched, let out his own false yawn and quickly excused himself, feigning fatigue as well. The other couples chuckled amongst themselves, but it seemed to be unanimous that the evening was coming to a close.

Johnny banked the fire and then followed April into their tent. Jim and Jean had retired to their tent as well. Roy and Leah chose to sit and enjoy the stars a bit longer before turning in themselves.

The next morning…

"Roy just what do you think you are doing?" Leah stood over Roy with her hands on her hips as she watched him sorting through the climbing gear picking out harnesses and ropes.

"What does it look like I am doing? I'm gearing up."

"Not with that harness you're not. You are not going to be the belayer this trip. Johnny help me out here."

"Roy, Leah's right, your back is still tender and you don't need to take the extra weight on it, why risk it." Roy not quite convinced was still strapping a duel harness around his waist so Johnny continued. "Alright have it your way, but if Brackett or Early find out you are going to be in big trouble, and if you get hurt again, you are going to have to explain it to Dixie."

The last statement stopped Roy in his tracks and he started unbuckling the harness that he had just put on and said, "Ok maybe you're right."

Jim and Pete were watching the scene unfold and knew that they didn't have a clue what the conversation was about so Jim asked. "Look I know that you guys know what you're talking about but could you clue us in on it?"

Leah laughed, "Sure, What were talking about is who is going to be the belayer. Belaying is basically securing a climber to a rope, or belayer, so he doesn't fall very far in case of slipping off the rock, loose footing or their losing their hold."

Pete was looking intently at the equipment in front of him. "So the climber is attached to the other person and they catch him if he falls?"

"That's right, we use this special climbing harness, a pulley, and a belay loop, all of which are attached to the climbing rope. See like this. Then we secure your rope through the loop and with this hand break if you fall I can slow the fall and lower you slowly or stop the fall in mid air until you can get your footing back." Leah showed Jim and Pete the equipment as she explained how it worked and failed to notice that the information was not offering much comfort to Pete.

"So what you are saying is that the belayer literally holds their partner's life in their hands?" Pete asked as he could feel cold sweat beads forming on his forehead.

"That's right," Johnny answered, "so you have to do it right - every time."

Roy spoke up, "that is why Johnny and Leah are right and I'm not going to work the life line today, my back may not be up to carrying the extra weight and we don't want to take any chances."

Leah was harnessed up as well as Johnny and Roy, "Alright guys, you ready to get geared up and jump off this rock face? Pete you're on my line, Jim you're with Johnny."

The sweat that had beaded on Pete's forehead was now trickling down the side of his temple. Trying to keep his voice steady, as he reached up to brush the sweat away, he said, "You know I outweigh Jim by about 15 pounds, don't you think it would be better for me to be on Johnny's line?"

His question was met with deafening silence until Roy spoke, "Uh-oh, now you've done it."

Pete was sure that he saw Leah's eyes flash with just a hint of a spark. "What's the matter Pete, don't think a girl can handle the job or is that just a little bit of male chauvinism coming out?"

"No; no that's not it at all. I was just thinking that it would be easier..."

"Easier?" Leah responded as the other guys stood there with impish grins as they watched Pete dig the hole he was in even deeper. "Easier for whom? Me or your ego?"

Leah wasn't really as upset as she wanted Pete to believe. "I tell you what big brother, you go on my line for the down repel, and then if you're still not comfortable with little sis holding you're life line then you can go on Johnny's for the rock face up climb. Deal?"

Knowing that he had to pull himself out of the situation and still save face Pete agreed, "Ok, deal."

Leah turned to go up the path that led to the top of the rock surface they would repel down and Johnny and Roy started chuckling as if they had some secret that they couldn't share. Johnny slapped Pete on the back as he walked by him and said, "Boy are you gonna get it."

"What do you mean? Roy what did he mean?" Roy just smiled and followed Johnny and simply said, "You'll see."

Jim and Pete stood there for just a second when Pete whispered to Jim, "Jim, what do you think they meant?"

"I'm not sure Pete, but I can't wait to find out" giving him his second slap on his back in the last 30 minutes. Pete was the last to follow everyone up the path to the 150-foot drop that they were about to repel down. He almost felt like he was being led to his execution but was trying to convince himself, "I know these guys; they wouldn't really do anything that would get me hurt." But for some reason he wasn't really feeling any better about what was about to happen.

Once they were at the top of the drop off and were anchored off and had their ropes secure, Johnny and Leah began to give Jim and Pete a few lessons. They showed them how to feed the rope through the harness and how to look for the best repel spots for pushing off the cliff side. Then they showed them how to then feed the rope while out, then pull up the slack as they start back toward the rock face with their feet in front of them.

Roy was going to go down, with them in the center, to coach them on the way down and help them pick out the spots for the best landings. He checked his rope one final time and backed up to the edge and jumped and repelled down about ten feet from the top.

Jim was next and was a quick learner and jumped backwards and made a perfect landing almost dead even with Roy. Pete was next, and with much trepidation and a quick Hail Mary said under his breath he jumped backwards and in two landings was next to Jim and Roy.

Roy smiled, "Hey guys not bad for a first jump. You ready to take it down a little farther? We need to go about 10 more feet then lock in so Johnny and Leah can repel out then you will be ready to hand feed the ropes. Ok here we go."

They repelled down and locked the ropes, "Hey Roy this is great I could really get the hang of this."

"I knew that you'd like it Jim, just be careful to not get over confident, when you do, you make mistakes; on the other hand Pete you need to relax just a bit. You have a death grip here and that is going to wear you out. Loosen your grip just a little when you repel and let the rope slide through your hand like running water."

Pete attempted to smile, "Roy I am hanging over 130 feet in the air being held by nothing more than a rope, that is easier said than done."

"Oh you're being held by more than a rope, Pete. See that girl up there? You're in good hands because she's holding the rope that's holding you."

They received the hand signal and heard Johnny and Leah call out "On Belay" which meant that it was safe for Jim and Pete to repel further down the side; when they called out "Off belay." That was to tell them that they were about to repel and Jim and Pete were to hold their positions.

After the 3rd or 4th repel, Pete was beginning to relax and take in the beauty around him. When he heard Leah call "On belay," he released his rope to repel, but as he did his foot slipped on the edge of the rock face and he couldn't hold the rope. Instantly he was dangling away from the rock face and free falling straight down.

After about 15 feet Pete could tell that he was not slowing and he fell another 15 to 20 feet when there was a jarring of his body and the rope stopped and caught him mid air. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings and realize just what had happened. Roy was beside him in seconds and reached out and pulled his rope toward the rock face and held it until he could gain his footing back.

Breathing heavily, Pete just nodded his head when Roy asked him if he was alright. Then Roy said "You know Pete, she really wouldn't have let you fallen any further, she was tying to teach you a lesson and to show you how important it is trust her when climbing."

What Roy said was beginning to sink in and Pete said, "You mean to tell me she let me fall...on purpose?"

Roy chuckled and replied "Only the last 10 feet." Pete threw his gaze up at Leah and couldn't help but smile nervously when he saw her wave and then heard "off belay" being yelled down at him and the sound of female laughter ringing out into the canyon.

Jim looked at Pete, "Well I guess now we know what they meant when they said 'you're gonna get it'"

Pete's smile began to fade as Jim was laughing while heading further down the mountainside. Jim and Pete both had gained a new found respect for the wilderness and the beauty of being able to see the landscape from the vantage point that very few get the chance to view it from.

"That was great!" Jim said, "I want to try that again."

"I'm glad you liked it Jim" Leah smiled at him, "What about you Pete?"

Pete put his arm around Leah, "Sis, you have taught me a great lesson today; never underestimate your partner."

Leah elbowed him the ribs just a bit, "Good, because now we go back up!" laughing as she walked to the base gear and grabbed a canteen of water."

Jim asked Johnny, "What'd she mean by that?"

"Oh nothing," Johnny smiled, "just that going up is a lot harder and a lot trickier than coming down."

"Yeah," Roy added, "There's a greater chance of falling, but don't worry about your partner, Leah won first place in the competition on the up climb, she knows what she is doing..." then grinning "Johnny didn't you come in 3rd in that competition?"

"Me? Naw Roy, you forget, I was eliminated in the first round, I didn't even place...darn it." and then both headed off to join Leah for some water and watched Jim as he eased over to Pete who was taking his turn with an impish grin.

"Say Pete, I know you are nervous about being on Leah's line, you want to trade off on the next climb?"

"Me, nervous? Now Partner, what ever gave you such an idea." and Pete joined the others laughing just a bit.

They made the up climb without incident and had such a good time that Johnny and Leah belayed one more time for Pete and Jim to repel back down the mountain while Roy waited topside to retrieve the anchors after they were on the ground. It was getting late in the afternoon and it was time to head back to camp. They were starving having eaten a good breakfast that morning but only some trail mix and water for lunch.

As they hiked the mile back to camp Roy and Leah were walking hand in hand when Pete came up and put his arm around Leah's shoulder. "You know Sis, I'm really proud of you." He said, as he looked at his unofficial little sister, "You are an amazing person."

Leah stopped and looked at him, taking in what he had said. "Leah what is it?" Pete asked.

Leah smile at him, "Oh nothing; it's just that no one has ever said that to me, other than Roy."

"Well, now that we've adopted each other, I'll be sure to tell you more often." Pete smiled.

It was the closing to the perfect day and the entire group thought that this was turning into the perfect vacation.

**************  
Jean was coming out of the woods. She had a disgusted look on her face and Jillian could just imagine that she was about to start in on another tirade about the lack of facilities in the wilderness.

"This is just not my idea of camping! At least when we busted in on you and Pete at the lake, the campgrounds that we stayed at had a bathroom and a shower facility!"

April and Jillian could both sense that their friend was beginning to get antsy once again so April jumped in and tried to change the subject. "I think the guys and Leah will be really happy when they see how many fish we caught for dinner tonight. Just as soon as they get back, I'll have the guys clean them and then we can cook them up."

Knowing that April was avoiding the outdoor plumbing conversation with Jean, Jillian jumped in and suggested that she and Jean start in on getting the fire pit ready and then the three of them could start peeling and cutting the potatoes, carrots, green peppers and onions for the foil packs.

While they were preparing the vegetables, Jillian noticed how Jean kept fidgeting and scratching. April had noticed it also and she and Jillian exchange knowing looks; Jean had probably found herself some poison ivy.

"Jean, I noticed that you are itching quite a bit. You didn't get into any poison ivy, did you?" Jillian asked her friend.

"No, I don't think so. I've been very careful to watch where I, er, uhm, well you know, where I'm at when I'm out there. Besides, there aren't any bumps on my arm; it's just a little red from where I have been scratching. I'm sure it's just a case of the 'itchies' from being in the woods with the bugs and all."

"Why don't you let me take a look at your back, just to make sure?" Jillian ventured.

"Really, Jillian, I'm fine."

"Well if you're still itchy later on, have Johnny or Roy take a look at it. They'll be able to tell for sure." April threw in.

Jean laughed at her overly worried friends, "Alright…but I'm telling you two, I'm fine."

The three women continued with their task at hand, with Jillian and April watching as Jean continued to periodically scratch at her arm and back every few seconds.

Soon the others strolled into the campsite and were greeted by the ladies, who were full of questions about the excursion. Jillian and Jean were especially curious, so while Roy and Johnny cleaned the fish, Pete and Jim entertained the ladies with a re-count of the day. A short time later, the food was cooking over the campfire while the group of friends sat around visiting. Talk was still centered on rock climbing and Pete and Jims' reactions to the experience.

"You should've seen Pete's face when Leah…" Jim never finished his sentence, as Pete stretched out is leg and 'bumped' Jims' foot while shooting a look that said 'can it or Jillian will have my hide…and probably Leah's, too.' Jim caught the look and quickly changed the subject.

Jillian had caught the look and the action on Pete's end, as well as Jim's reaction. She knew that she'd be having a talk with her husband later, in private. _I'm not going to ask anything right now, it's obvious he wants to keep something under wraps. He does seem to be a bit slow with his movements, though. "_Pete, why are you moving like a stoved-up old man?" Jillian queried. "Did you use some muscles that your body forgot that it had?"

"Uhm, yeah Sunshine. I guess I did." He was silently praying that no one else would bring up the incident from earlier.

_Liar…you're keeping something from me, Pete Malloy and I WILL find out what it is! _"Mmmm, I see. Maybe I'll give you back rub later."

The food was soon cooked and there was little conversation as they ate their dinner. Dessert consisted of juicy, ripe watermelon.

No one seemed to notice the grin on Jean's face as she took a watermelon seed and pinched it between her fingers, trying to shoot it at Jim. She missed, and it hit Roy in the arm.

"Hey! Who did that?" Roy asked.

No one fessed up. Jean looked toward the fire, knowing that if she looked at Roy she would bust out laughing. She quickly took another seed and shot it at Jim, once again missing and hitting Roy on the cheek. This time she giggled.

Roy looked up, surprised and was just about to ask again who was shooting him with seeds when he caught the sound of Jean giggling.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play, huh? Well, I can shoot seeds too." And with that, he pinched a seed and it flew directly at April, who squealed and pinched off a seed of her own, hitting Pete. The fight was on and soon the whole gang was involved in pinch shooting watermelon seeds at each other. After a few minutes, Jillian slinked off to the tent and pulled out her camera, snapping several shots of the group acting silly and shooting watermelon seeds at each other. Fifteen minutes later, the whole group had collapsed into fits of laughter as the last of the seeds were shot off.

Soon it was beginning to get dark and the group decided to get the dishes washed up and call it a night. The men took care of clean up while the ladies traipsed off to the little girls' wilderness.

**********************

When they were ready to turn in for the night, Jillian and Pete had once again opened up both sleeping bags and zipped them together so as to make one big double-sized bag, rather than two separate ones. It made for much easier cuddling, especially around Jillians' ever-growing baby belly.

Pete was lying on his back and when Jillian rolled over to drape her arm over his waist, she felt him flinch and heard a small sharp intake of breath coming from him. Her thoughts went back to the earlier conversation.

"Pete, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Hon, I'm just a little sore…that's all."

"Not buying it, Pete Malloy…try again."

"No, really, I'm okay."

"Listen Mister, I saw the look, and the not so subtle kick, that you gave to Jim earlier. I also saw his reaction. What are you keeping from me?"

"Really, Sunshine, it's nothing."

"Don't you dare 'really Sunshine, it's nothing' me! You'd better come clean right now buddy, or there will be heck to pay if I have to go out there and drag it out of one of the others!"

Pete could tell that Jillian was getting a little upset over being kept in the dark so he explained to her what had happened, and why, ending with "So see, it was just a prank, done in fun…no harm."

It was at least three very long minutes after he finished speaking before she could trust her voice enough to speak to him. Inside she was seething at the thought that her friend would take such drastic measures to prove a point. The only thing that kept going through Jillians' mind was _What if that silly, immature display of one up-man-ship had gone awry; Pete could have been killed. And he's laying here acting as if it was the most normal thing in the world and I shouldn't be upset!_

Pete was thinking, _Come on Sunshine, don't be upset. It all worked out okay and there was never any danger…well, okay, maybe a little danger, but not very likely. Come on, say something; I knew I shouldn't have told her. Here goes nothing. _"Now please don't be mad at Leah, she was just trying to get me to understand that when you're climbing, you have to fully trust your partner. Sunshine, I'm sorry that I've upset you by telling you this. Please don't be mad at Leah, though, okay?"

There were still several emotions going on inside Jillian when Pete spoke, however, she also knew that Pete hadn't meant to upset her. Deep down, she also knew that Leah would never intentionally put any of them in harms way. Trying not to let her voice betray her attempt at lightening the issue at hand, Jillian tenderly kissed her husbands' cheek and said, "I wish I could've seen the look on your face. Are you sure that you're okay?"

Rolling over and gently gathering his wife into his arms, "I'm sure Sunshine…I love you." He then began kissing her, sending her thoughts down other paths at that moment.

*********************

"Jean, lay still, will you?" Jim had been laying there, trying to go to sleep for the better part of an hour, but Jean kept fidgeting and asking him to scratch her back. Finally, he took the flashlight and turned it on, looking at Jeans' back. "Uh-oh. Honey, I think you may have gotten into some poison ivy."

"WHAT? That's not possible; I'll tell you, just like I told April and Jillian, I have been very careful out there in the woods! OH! It itches! Jim, I think I want to go home.

"Shah…Jean, you're going to wake everyone up."

"I don't care if I wake up Rip Van Wrinkle! I am miserably itchy and I want to go home!"

"Be reasonable, Jean, we can't drive down off of this mountain in the dark. Listen, let me go ask Johnny and Roy if they have any poison ivy lotion in the first aid kit. I'm sure they will have something."

"Fine, but I'm telling you right now, Jim Reed, you are taking me home first thing tomorrow, got it!" And then, softening her tone a little, " You know Jim, I don't think I have what it takes to wilderness camp. The next time you take me camping, if it's not a hotel room with a feather bed, air conditioning and indoor plumbing, can it at least be a place where the outside plumbing has four walls and no poison ivy?"

"Sure thing, Honey. And I promise, first thing tomorrow, we'll head home. Now hold on, and I'll be right back." Jim left their tent and went over to Johnny and April's tent, gently calling Johnny's name. A few minutes later, he was back in his own tent and putting lotion on Jean's poison ivy, giving her enough relief that she was able to fall asleep.

*********************

Johnny and Roy had both risen early and were preparing breakfast, giving the ladies a break from cooking. They also figured that breakfast would go a long way in ensuring that their wouldn't be much of an argument from the ladies when the men decided that they wanted to take off for a few hours to drown some worms.

Leah and April were the next ones to roll out of the tents, followed by Pete and Jillian. A few minutes later, Jim and was helping Jean who was leaning heavily on him as he led her to the nearest chair and got her some water to drink.

All eyes landed on her and everyone was shocked to see how much her poison ivy had spread. Her arms were fire engine red, as was her neck and face. The poor woman looked terrible. Jim spoke before anyone could comment. "Uhm, Jean and I are going to head back to town. She's not really feeling too well, right now."

Roy and Johnny were both instantly at her side checking her over to make sure that she was alright and there was not more going on that what was meeting the eye.

"Jim, you need to get her to the hospital she is running a pretty good fever and she's going to need a shot to control that poison ivy." Roy said.

"Yeah, it got pretty bad during the night. Uhm, do you have any more of that cream in the first aid kit; we used the last of the other tube."

"Yeah, sure Jim, just let me get it and I'll get an ice pack too." Johnny replied as he went over to the Landrover to retrieve the first aid kit.

The ladies had all gathered around Jean and were talking with her. They could see that she was upset about having to leave early. "I'm sorry guys, I knew that all I was doing was complaining and I didn't even understand why myself, I just felt so bad and that is when this rash started."

Jillian hugged her as best she could without hurting her and said, "Oh Jean, it's alright, we knew you just weren't yourself but now we see why. I know you're miserable."

April spoke up, "Jillian's right, we just hate it that you feel so bad, do you want one of us to go back with you?"

"No I'll be fine, I just need to lie down." She tried to stand up to go back to the tent until Jim was ready to go but she was weak and just didn't have the energy.

Jim caught her and scooped her up in his arms and carried her toward their car, "Here Honey, I'm going to put you in the back seat so you can lie down on the way back to the city."

"I'll get her a blanket and pillow." Leah called out.

As Jim was getting her settled in, Johnny told Jim not to worry about their camping gear; that they would pack it and bring it back with them on Monday when they headed in. The girls all assured Jean that they would check on her as soon as they were near a phone.

A short time later, Jim and Jean were all set and heading down the mountain. The remaining three couples sat quietly eating their breakfast in the early morning air. The mood was a little somber.

********************

"Just relax, Honey, we'll be back to town in just a little while and I'm going to take you straight to the hospital."

"I'm sorry Jim. I know how much you were looking forward to this trip." Jean replied, drowsily.

"Jean, Honey, there's nothing to be sorry for. It's just something that could've happened to anyone. There will be other camping trips. The main thing right now is to get you to the hospital and get that poison ivy under control. Now try and relax."

The cream that Jim had applied to the poison ivy before they left was curbing the itchiness enough that Jean was able to drift off to sleep while he drove them toward home.

About fifteen minutes outside of the camping area, on a narrow mountain pass, a gray prison bus was coming towards them from the opposite direction. With the road as narrow as it was, Jim had to drive dangerously close to the edge in order to avoid hitting the bus as it rounded a slight curve and went just a bit left of center. Jim's forehead broke out into tiny sweat droplets as he thought about the close call. He was really glad that Jean was asleep and hadn't seen the near miss.

I wonder what a prison bus is doing up here in the mountains. Surely they wouldn't use this off the beaten path route to transport prisoners anywhere. Hmph.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jackson, what do you think you're doing. This isn't the route that we're supposed to take. The supervisor will have our asses if he finds out that we strayed from the main highway now get us back on track!"

"Cool it, will ya, Norval. I know a shortcut over this mountain pass. It'll save us a good half an hour each way and I'll be home in time for my kids' birthday party! Besides, the boss won't find out unless you decide to go and blab your trap to him!"

"Yeah, well, that was a narrow miss back there with that car. Next time we might not be that lucky and the only thing any of us will make it home in time for will be our funerals or a nice, long hospital stay."

"Just shut up and keep an eye on the prisoners and leave the driving to me!"

Little did the two guards and three prisoners know, just around the next bend, Norvals' words weren't going to be too far from reality.

As they hit the next curve, though there was no oncoming traffic, Jackson cut it a little to close to the outside of the curve, causing him to jerk the wheel back the other way. The over correction was too much for him to handle and the bus toppled over the slight embankment on the opposite side of the road, rolling two times before coming to rest, driver's side down.

All three prisoners were a bit shaken up and bruised, but none had suffered any life threatening injuries in the accident.

Jackson was unconscious and still strapped into the driver's seat. Norval, who had been thrown around quite a bit in the accident, lay unconscious at one of the prisoner's feet.

Seeing the advantage of the situation at hand, Smitty wasted no time reaching into Norvals' pocket to retrieve the key to the shackles. Quickly unlocking his and the shackles on the other two, the three made short work of shackling the guards and then taking their weapons before climbing out of the prison bus.

"Smitty, what are we gonna do now?" Jonesy asked.

"Well, the way I see it, we just got us an 'early release' and I'm gonna get out of here, that's what I'm gonna do. I ain't gonna wait around for them to come looking for me so they can send me back to that hellhole, that's for sure. You two can do whatever you want to do."

"Well I'm going with you" declared Johnson, the third prisoner. "It would be in our best interests to stay together, after all, this is rugged terrain out here, and probably some wild animals. It'd be best to stick together."

"I agree with Johnson, Smitty, I think we need to travel together, at least until we make it to a town where we can get some other clothes and maybe a set of wheels. After that, we can decide where to part ways. For now, I say we stay together."

"Suit yourselves, but I'll tell you now, I'm in charge, got it?"

"Yeah, sure Smitty…anything you say." Johnson wasn't about to argue, he knew Smitty too well to argue. Smitty had a gun…Smitty was in prison for cold-blooded murder as it was, and Johnson had no intention of becoming another notch in Smitty's gun."

"You know I ain't gonna argue with you, Smitty." Added Jonesy. Though he had the other gun, he wasn't stupid enough to pit himself against Smitty, as he too, knew of Smitty's reputation.

That settled, the alpha-dog took off, with the other two following close. They headed up the road, leading in the direction that they had been going when the bus went off of the road. "I figure it will be awhile before anyone realizes the prison bus didn't make it to its destination. Now if memory serves me correctly, there's a wilderness area up the road some ways. Maybe we can find us some nice, unsuspecting campers to show us a little hospitality…you know, a little food, change of clothes…maybe a woman or two to get a little lovin' from." The laughter from the three men made a sickening echo off the mountains.

******

"Sunshine, you're worried about Jean, aren't you?" Pete could tell by how quiet Jillian had been at breakfast that she was thinking about her friend.

"Yeah; she looked really bad, Pete." Jillian couldn't keep the emotion out of her voice as she stood there, looking out at the mountain stream, watching the water flow gently by.

Pete gathered her into his arms, holding her close, "She'll be fine. I'm sure Jim has gotten her to the hospital already and by the time we get back to town tomorrow morning, she'll be right as rain. Now quit worrying and let's head back to the campsite."

"I'll try." Jillian gave Pete a slight smile. "You go ahead, I'll head back as soon a shoot a couple of pictures. It's so peaceful out here and the trees and the scenery are just absolutely beautiful…you know I can't let this photo op go." Jillian pointed her camera in Pete's direction and took a couple of shots of him.

"Hey, I thought you wanted to shoot the scenery." Pete demanded in a playful voice.

"Mmm…I do; but I like the wildlife shots, too, though." Jillian giggled.

Pete let out a low growl, and whispered in Jillian's ear "I'll show you 'wildlife'…what d'ya say we go back to the tent and pretend that I'm the 'big bad wolf' and that you're 'little red riding hood'?"

Jillian let out a full-bellied laugh at her husbands antics, "Pete Malloy, it's broad daylight, there are two other couples back at the camp; not to mention that the tent walls are way too thin for any afternoon hanky panky!"

Laughing along with her, Pete gave his wife a very passionate kiss; "You can't blame a guy for trying, can you?"

Jillian took a few more shots and then the two of them walked hand in hand back to the campsite. The others were sitting around, sipping the last of the coffee and going over plans for the day.

"Are you ladies going to go fishing with us?" Roy asked the three women.

"Sure, I'll go." Leah said.

"How about it, April, you and Jillian want to go, too?" Johnny inquired.

"Honey, I think I'll just hang back here; relax a little; read a book…you know, all the things I never have time to do at home."

"I think I'll stay behind, too. I brought a great mystery with me that I have been trying to get through for the last week. I only have about a hundred more pages left to read and it's due back at the library this Wednesday."

"You want me to stay here with you, Sunshine?"

"No Pete, we'll be fine. Thanks for asking though; you are just too sweet. You go and enjoy some fishing."

"Okay then…now if any wild animals come to call, you know where my off duty weapon is, right?" He knew that Jillian hated handguns and hated it that he had to carry one when off duty. He also knew that she was proficient with a hunting rifle, and her skills with a handgun were right on target as well, so he felt totally at ease with leaving his gun behind in case of an emergency.

Laughing, Jillian rolled her eyes, "Yes, Pete…it's in the tent, up near the corner, buried under a towel…just sitting there like a coiled silver snake waiting to strike. You sure you don't want to take it with you…in case the fish aren't biting, you could always order them into the boat at gunpoint…just don't forget to read 'em their rights!" Jillian deadpanned. Now it was Pete's turn to roll his eyes and laugh.

"Big brother, I'd say your wife just might be more than you can handle." Leah chuckled. Johnny and Roy had also heard the exchange and couldn't help but snicker as well.

"Little sister, I think I've known that for quite some time now!"

Still laughing, Pete bent down and kissed Jillian; Johnny gave April a kiss, too. The two women stood and watched the group traipse off through the woods, towards the mountain stream.

"Jillian, that is so adorable how Pete just hovers over you; wanting to know if you want him to stay here at the camp with you; asking if you need him to accompany you to the little girls' woods. Guys are so funny when their wives are pregnant for the first time."

"Yeah, it's something alright, but I'm not quite sure the word 'adorable' is what I would use. I think he that he thinks I'm a fragile piece of china that's going to break if somebody looks crooked at me, these days! Is Johnny like that?"

"Oh he was with Drew, more so than with this one. It's just that it's a whole new experience for Pete; you'll see, with the next one, he'll still be attentive, just not overbearingly so."

"Okay, I'm going to have to file that information away…I hope to not have to recall that at least until this one is a couple of years old!" Jillian laughed.

They then both went to their tents to grab their reading material and sat down in their chairs enjoying the peace and quiet as they lost themselves in their books. This was how the three men found them when they wandered into the camp.

"Well looky here, fellas; we've stumbled across some ladies doing a little camping." Smitty voice startled Jillian and April as the both looked up from their reading material. Both women suddenly felt very vulnerable, as they looked at the three scruffy looking men now standing in front of them. It was obvious from their nature of dress that they were probably escaped prisoners from some institution.

Trying very hard to keep the fear out of her voice, Jillian smiled slightly, "Hi fellas. What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Once again, Smitty did the talking as Johnson and Jonesy stood off to the side. "Well, we were just passing through this area and happened to stumble up on your campsite. You ladies wouldn't happen to have a cup of coffee or some sort of vittles for three hungry travelers, now would you?"

"We've already cleaned up from breakfast." April said, hoping that with that simple answer that they would go away. She had an uneasy feeling about the three as she noticed their prison garb, as well.

"Well, now, I think the hospitable thing to do would be to maybe offer to fix up something real quick for us so that we can be back to our travels." This time it was Jonesy who spoke up.

Jillian, sensing danger, knew this crew wasn't going away that easily. Figuring to head off a full-blown confrontation she cast a quick glance in Aprils' direction before saying to her friend, "Why don't you fix up some bologna sandwiches for these gentlemen while I put on a pot of coffee."

Thinking that Jillian had totally lost her mind, April stared at her for a moment before catching a glimpse of something fearful in Jillian's eyes. _Maybe Jillian's right, maybe we had just better go along with this; feed them and send them on their way._ "Uhm, sure, I'll do that right now." April quickly went over to the Landrover and pulled out the makings for several sandwiches as Jillian stoked up the fire and put the campfire coffeepot on to brew.

The three men had taken it upon themselves to pull up chairs and sit down, leering at the two women as they went about their tasks at hand.

"So, by the looks of this campsite, four tents, lots of chairs, you ladies aren't alone on this trip, are you?" Smitty inquired.

"The others should be back real soon; they just took a little hike." _No need to let them know that the others won't be back for a few hours yet. Maybe they'll eat and be on their way. _Jillian thought.

"Maybe we'll just wait around and introduce ourselves to them, too." Johnson spoke up. He had been eyeballing April as she worked, making her more and more uncomfortable by the second. Walking up behind her, he touched her golden hair, causing her to let out a small yelp and nearly dropping the sandwich that she had in her hand.

"Johnson, keep it in your pants and get away from her. We can't be disrespecting these ladies as they are being kind enough to be neighborly." Johnson did as Smitty bid and moved away from April, but not before reaching out and stroking her hair one more time. She could feel her skin crawl at his touch, while thinking _Oh God, Johnny please get back here soon! _

Jillian was watching the scene from across the campfire, seething inside and wishing now that she would have let Pete stay behind when he offered, then quickly thought, _No, I'm glad Pete's with the others. He'd be outnumbered three to one and God only knows if these guys have weapons. At least this way, if we seem amicable enough_, _they may just leave after they eat. _Deep down, she knew that wouldn't be the case.

Little conversation took place as the men sat devouring their sandwiches and coffee. April and Jillian were sitting side by side across the campfire from the men when they asked for seconds on food and refills on the coffee. Jillian and April quickly obliged, all the while trying to keep calm on the exterior, while inside both were reeling with fear as they sat back down.

Jonesy, who had been leering at Jillian, suddenly got up and walked over to stand in front of her. Reaching out, he grabbed her left arm and nearly jerked her out of the chair that she was sitting in. Holding her gaze steady to match his, in a low no nonsense tone, she demanded, "Get your filthy hands off of me now." She had to strain her neck in order to look up at him and hold his gaze while she talked. Despite the beginning ache in her neck muscles, she continued to glare at him, not even blinking. One more time she reiterated, "I won't tell you again…get your hands off of me, now."

"JONESY! Leave the woman alone. Can't you see she don't want to play your little game right now? Besides, if Smitty won't let me have at it with the blonde, what makes you think he's going to let you score with the cute little brunette?"

After holding Jillian's gaze for another full minute, Jonesy roughly pushed her down into the chair and then turned and headed off into the woods. Jillian wanted to toss her cookies at the thought of what that man had wanted to do to her. In the chair next to her, April didn't look as though she was faring any better.

Smitty, watching the scene unfold, spoke up, saying, "Listen you two, after the rest of their party gets back, we'll befriend them and then when they let their guard down, we'll tie 'em up and then you can take these little women off into their tents and satisfy your urges. It should be fun and worry free time for both of you and on the bright side, you don't have t worry about siring any children since they are both so obviously pregnant! He laughed at his own sick joke.

April and Jillian both physically blanched at the thought, causing the three escapees to share a laugh at the women's expense.

_Pete's gun…if I could get to Pete's gun…they haven't shown any weapons, yet; maybe they don't have any. _Slowly getting up out of her chair, Jillian addressed Smitty, who seemed to be the pack leader. "Would it be alright if I went to the…uhm…the uhm…well you know, the 'facilities,' for lack of a better word? Babies like to bounce on bladders, if you know what I mean."

"I need to go, too." April chimed in.

"One at a time." Smitty said, and then pointing to Jillian, "You go first…you asked first."

"Thank you…I just need to get some toilet paper from the tent, if that's okay."

"Yeah, go ahead…but that better be all you get." With that statement, he pulled up his non-tucked shirt, revealing a revolver about the size of the one that Pete carried, when off duty. "And make sure you don't take too long…I don't want to have to send Jonesy in after you…who knows what he may try if he gets you all alone in the woods."

Nodding her head in understanding, Jillian made quick work of entering the tent and tucking the gun in the side of her waistband and then pulling her shirt down to cover it. She was thankful that maternity shirts were so oversized and roomy. The gun wasn't at all visible. She then grabbed a handful of toilet paper and headed off into the woods, not looking back.

When she found the trail leading into the little boys' wilderness, she quickly glanced behind her and saw that she hadn't been followed so she took the gun and placed it under the wild rose bush. Now all she had to do was find a way of telling Pete where it was at when he got back to the camp.

Coming back into the camp, she looked at April and said, "Next" and then sat down. Smitty gave a similar threat to April about hurrying or he would send Johnson into the woods after her. She quickly went ant took care of her business, coming back and sitting down also.

Johnson and Jonesy, at Smitty's suggestion, had decided to raid the tents looking for changes of clothing, making Jillian glad that she had gotten Pete's gun out of the tent when she did. When they came up short, they went through the vehicles, finding fresh shirts for the three of them. At least now, they didn't look like escaped convicts.

The three men continued to make themselves comfortable, showing no signs of leaving. But then, after hearing Smitty's earlier comment about waiting on the others to return Jillian and April held out little hope that the threesome would just go away. And so it was, two hours later, when the others came back to the camp, they found the three men sitting around the campfire, laughing and talking to each other. Jillian and April were sitting across from them, side by side, watching them with guarded and fearful eyes.

Immediately, Pete, Roy and Johnny sensed that something was amiss as they eyed the three men sitting across from the women. They could see the fear in the girls' eyes.

Pete spoke first, "G'morning gentlemen. What brings you to our campsite?"

Seeing the fishing gear, Smitty knew that the ladies had lied about their friends being out hiking. After raking his gaze over Leah, Smitty spoke up, "Well, we're just passing through and the ladies here were kind enough to be MORE than hospitable." and casting a menacing glance at April and Jillian, Smitty knew that they would keep quiet. He had made sure that both of them knew that he was packing a gun.

Pete's eyes met Jillian's for a brief moment, silently conveying _it's going to be okay, Sunshine; I'm not going to let these men hurt you or anyone else._

Jillian, knowing Pete as she did, knew that he was silently re-assuring her; she gave him an ever so slight smile, indicating to him that she knew that he would move heaven and earth to protect her and the others. That slight smile also conveyed to him to be very careful.

At that point, the three unwanted guests hadn't done anything around the others, besides leering at the ladies, that could be conceived at 'threatening' so Pete, Roy, Johnny and Leah proceeded into camp and went about their business putting their fishing gear away and acting as normal as possible. Leah had gone over and sat down, next to April. Roy and Johnny were busying themselves over at the Landrover, with sorting through their tackle boxes and puttering with their fishing poles. They could tell that every move they made was being watched.

Pete started toward the tent, with the intention of retrieving his gun. He had a bad feeling when he looked in and could see that the tent had been ransacked. _Why didn't I just take the gun with me? _He thought.

Jillian spoke up, "Oh, Pete, it's okay, that snake that was in the tent earlier, you know, the one that was under the towel in the corner, well, it never came back around. It's probably still under that bush where you put it after taking it out of the tent." _Oh, I hope you remember our conversation about the gun looking like a snake, ready to strike...and I hope there wasn't more than one wild rose bush in the woods._

_Oh, you're good, Sunshine. You knew just what I was going in there for…and you had the foresight to get it out of the tent and put it where you knew I could get to it easily…at least I hope we are on the same page._

Pete gave her a smile and a slight nod that said 'I understand, Sunshine.' "Oh, well in that case, I won't go in and check for it, then." He turned and headed over to the pile of wood near the fire pit.

Leah had been studying the men since arriving back in camp and something wasn't right but she just couldn't put her finger on it. _Hinky...isn't that what Pete calls it, _she thought to herself. _Why would three men be here in this wilderness area with no gear, no vehicle and no water...and their clothes, they all have on the same pants and shoes, identical? The one they call Smitty, there is something familiar about him. _

Leah quietly studied him for a few minutes more then it hit her like a ton of bricks, _That shirt! That is Roy's shirt, and the blue striped one on the other guy, I'm sure that I've seen Johnny wearing it...I have got to get to Pete and let him know about this. Something is definitely not right.  
_  
She quietly got up from her chair and picked up the large line with the fish on it that they had caught earlier that day and walked over to Pete who was busying himself stacking the pile of wood that was lying near the fire pit. He was keeping his watch on the men sitting across from his location.

Leah knelt down beside him and said quietly where no one could hear but Pete, "Come with me I have to tell you something."

Pete could tell by the look on Leah's face that she knew something...something important. They both got up and started toward the truck where the fishing gear was stored.

Jillian was watching them and jumped when Smitty called out gruffly "Hey where are you two going?"

Pete didn't want them to know that something was suspected and said, "What's the matter, friend? Afraid we're not going to share the fish?"

"No, friend, just wanted to know where you were going."

Leah smiled, despite the fact that she was beginning to loathe this guy, "Hey fellows, it's getting late and if we don't get these fish cleaned quick, there's not going to be any supper. You are going to join us for supper aren't you?" Pete and Leah watched carefully to see if the men eased in their expressions just a bit.

"Ahh, yeah, sure we will, fish sounds great." Smitty looked at Jonesy and Johnson  
and gave them a look that said, _Play it cool guys, they don't suspect a thing.  
_  
Roy got up to follow them to the truck but Leah called to him, "Roy, Pete and I have got this; we'll clean the fish tonight and you can clean the next catch." He was a little confused by her statement but his attention was quickly diverted when Jillian let out a gasp and grabbed her stomach.

"Oh, that hurts," Jillian called out bending over in her chair.

Roy was immediately at her side asking what was wrong and Pete turned to go to her side too, until Leah grabbed his arm.

She whispered to him, "Pete, no, we might not get another chance."

Pete knew that she was right and knew that Jillian was in good hands at the moment. Sparing one more, quick glance toward Jillian, Pete continued to follow Leah to the back of the pickup truck where they got the gear out to clean the fish on the tailgate. Without looking up "Ok Leah, what is it?"

"Have you looked at their clothes?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"No, Pete have you really looked? They all have on the identical pants and shoes only the shirts are different, and the one that they call Smitty, he is wearing Roy's shirt and I'm pretty sure the other two have on Johnny's. Something is not right with them."

Pete looked at the men that were about 20 feet away. "You're right! How did I miss that?"

Leah chuckled a bit as she kept skinning the fish, "Because you are a guy and guys don't pay attention to clothes."

It was his turn to laugh, "I will from now on."

Smitty called out to them, "Hey you two, what's so funny over there? Want to share with the group?"

"Oh nothing, it's just that he didn't think I knew how to clean fish, that's all" Leah brushed it off as she nudged Pete while she answered.

"I bet that's not the only thing she's good at...am I right?" Smitty and the other two laughed and it made everyone's skin crawl.

Roy could see that Jillian was getting more upset and said quietly to her, "Everything is going to be alright, and I think that you just had a cramp. You need to drink some water."

Jillian smiled weakly at Roy, "I hope so. I just wish they would go away."

"Maybe they will after we fix something to eat; give them some food and maybe they will."

Pete turned back to Leah, "We can't let them find out that I'm a police officer. You and I are the only ones that know about the clothes right now, besides the girls. Besides they haven't done anything yet, lets just co-operate and not let them know we suspect something and maybe they will move on."

"Pete the girls are in no condition to help or even defend themselves, and if something happens we will need Johnny. Roy is still healing from his back injury so we can't expect him to take on anyone...and they can't find out that Jillian is your wife."

Pete looked at her, a little confused at her last comment, until the words started sinking in. It was going to be up to him and Leah and they had to think of a way to stay close to each other. If the men were to find out that Pete was a cop, and that Jillian was his wife, she would be a bigger bargaining tool with being pregnant. Besides, Leah was the only one left that understood the street language that these filthy men were spouting.

"You're right."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm not sure." He admitted, "Just follow my lead."

The fish cleaned, Pete and Leah rejoined the others around the campfire. Roy was still kneeling next to Jillian, making sure that she was all right. He had gotten her something to drink for fear that she might be dehydrated. Pete met Jillian's eyes and gave her a look that said '_Sunshine, trust me.' _  
_  
_Pete put his arms around Leah's waist and said, "You know what honey, you are first class at cleaning fish and I'm starving." He then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

Jillian wasn't sure what to think, but she trusted Pete completely, and immediately placed her hand on Roy's knee and kissed him on the cheek. When he looked at her surprised, she said "Thank you sweetheart, I feel much better now." The look in her eyes, and the look that Pete and Leah had when he turned toward them and saw Pete's arm around his wife, told Roy that something was wrong and not to say anything. He took the chair beside Jillian and held her hand when she reached out to him.

The plan almost backfired when Johnny, who had been in the tent for the last few minutes changing out of wet clothes, stepped out and saw Pete and Leah, arm in arm and Roy and Jillian hand in hand. Confused by the whole scene, "Hey what's going on here...?" He never got to finish the question because April who had been sitting quietly, delivered a quick blow to his shin.

"Oh I'm sorry honey, my foot slipped."

Jonesy noticing the exchange said "What did you mean 'what's going on here'?"

April spoke for him, "He wants to know why we haven't started cooking yet, you see my Johnny has a tremendous appetite...don't you dear."

Johnny got the look from April that said, _'don't you dare say one word mister, that you will regret' _and decided to simply agree, "What can I say, I'm a growing boy."

There was little talk amongst the group as they sat around the campfire watching the fish cook. Pete and Leah warily watched the three men; Roy kept a close eye on Jillian, and Johnny stayed close to April. The three men watched the six friends very closely. The tension in the air was thick.

Smitty, once again taking notice that there were four tents, spoke up, "Say there, friend," directing Pete's choice of words back to him, "I couldn't help but notice that there are four tents and only three couples. Who's missing from your little party?"

_Keep it simple, Pete…_Smiling slightly, "The other couple had to leave a little early; poison ivy issues."

The three men busted out laughing, with Smitty saying, "Hmph…someone forget to look where they were squattin'?"

"Something like that." Pete replied, not at all amused at Smitty's attempt at humor.

Finally, with the fish cooked, the group began to eat supper. Once again, the three unwanted guests ate as if it was to be their last meal, while the others merely picked at their food. Afterward, the three women stood up to begin gathering and washing the plates and silverware. While they were doing so, Leah walked past Smitty, who promptly reached out and swatted her on the rump, causing her let a startled gasp as she swung around to slap him, out of instinct.

All hell broke loose.

Smitty, with lightening fast reflexes, warded off Leah's slap as he caught her wrist in mid-air, squeezing a little harder than needed, again causing Leah to let out a gasp.

Roy started to rise, anger showing in his eyes, at the same time that Pete closed the distance between Smitty and himself, growling, "Get your filthy hands off of her, right now!"

Jillian had moved back over by Roy and immediately gave him a look that _said 'Don't Roy, let Pete handle this.' _She sat down next to him.

In the next instant, Jillian's blood ran cold and the fear rose high in her throat as she watched Smitty pull out his gun and stick it in Pete's face, "One more move and I'll blow your brains out, got it?"

Johnny immediately stood up, shooting daggers at Smitty, "Hey, just what do you think your doing?" He demanded.

Jonesy pulled out his gun and began waving it toward Johnny, "Sit down and shut up…nobody likes a dead hero." Still glaring at the gunman, Johnny sat back down.

April had moved back over and sat down once again next to Johnny. Jillian glanced over at April and gave her a look that said _'keep him cool.__'_

The anger was still showing in Pete's eyes, yet he knew that unarmed, he wasn't any match for a loaded pistol, so he put up his hands in a surrender type move, "Yeah, I got it." And then gently taking Leah's hand in his, they both turned and walked back to the chairs that they had been sitting in. Sparing another quick glance over at Jillian, who was sitting next to Roy and wringing her hands together tightly, he could see that she was scared to death of the encounter that just took place. Glancing at April, he could she that she had a death grip on Johnny's hand.

Smitty continued to wave the gun around. Jonesy decided that he too, needed to make it known to one and all that he was just as much a threat as Smitty, so he began waiving his pistol around as well, while spouting off, "Why don't we just shoot the guys and take the girls, huh? What d'ya say, Smitty, why can't we just do that?"

"Shut up you moron…and put that gun away. I got it all under control. We ain't shootin' nobody until we have to." He continued to glare at Pete as he waved the gun around. Jonesy had put his pistol back in his waistband.

Nightfall came before long. It was all the girls could do to keep from yawning in between the guarded looks that they were giving the three criminals. Their yawns seemed to have a chain reaction effect as the convicts began yawning as well.

Smitty was getting a bit peeved at his inability to stifle his yawns, "Hell, I can't sit here and watch you women yawning all night. All three of you into that tent over there." He demanded, as he pointed towards Pete and Jillian's tent.

Knowing that April had to be every bit as miserable as she was at that point, Jillian spoke quietly, "Would it be okay if we took a short trip into the woods…otherwise it could be a very long and miserable night with the babies lying on our bladders."

"Johnson, get a flashlight and go 'oversee' their bedtime routine. Holler if they try anything funny and I'll start taking out their men, one by one…starting with the tough guy, here." He was waving his gun toward Pete.

"'Kay, Smitty." Johnson went over to the Landrover and rummaged through the gear until he found a flashlight.

The three ladies and Johnson ventured off into the woods to take care of business. Ten minutes later, they were back and the three women went into the tent and spread out the sleeping bags and lay down. As tired as they were, sleep didn't come anytime soon, they were all worried about their loved ones on the other side of the tent walls.

Back out around the fire, Smitty had decided that he would split the men up and put one in each of the three remaining tents. He didn't want them together because he didn't want them to be able and try to plan to get the better of him and his goons. He then decided that he would take the first watch while Jonesy and Johnson sacked out in front of the fire for a few z's. He would wake them in a few hours, and they could stand watch while he rested for a spell.


	3. Chapter 3

A Camping We Will Go

(Part 3)

_Monday morning at the Reeds…._

"How are you feeling this morning, Sweetheart?" Jim asked, as Jean joined him in the kitchen.

"Oh I feel so much better. That shot that the doctor gave me really helped a lot! I had no idea that I was so allergic to poison ivy! I really am sorry that we had to cut the weekend short, Jim."

Gathering her into his arms, "Jean, Honey, it's alright. Don't worry about it. The main thing is that you are okay, Honey, and that means way more to me than anything. I love you, Babe." He gave her a tender kiss, which she enthusiastically returned.

Jean pulled away after a moment, "You had better give Pete a call and make sure that he'll be at work today. That way, HE can do all of the foot pursuits and you can make sure that you have the energy that you're going to need tonight…if you know what I mean."

Pulling her close and planting yet another passionate kiss on her lips, "Oh, I think I read you loud and clear, Babe."

Jean teasingly pushed him away, "Good; now go call your partner…and don't hang up after you talk to him because I want to talk to Jillian."

"Gotcha." Jim headed toward the phone while Jean set about making breakfast. They were expecting Jean's folks to be bringing Jimmy home soon.

A few minutes later, Jim walked back into the kitchen with a concerned look on his face. Jean immediately picked up on it, "Honey, is everything okay?"

"I hope so, Babe. I didn't get an answer at their apartment, so I called the ranch. Johnny and April aren't answering either. I haven't tried Roy and Leah, yet…maybe I'll go do that now." He turned and headed back into the living room, leaving a perplexed Jean standing at the stove.

Jim couldn't stop the feeling that something just wasn't right when he didn't get an answer at Roy and Leah's house, either. _Hmm…maybe they had car trouble…but then, they had two cars up there, so even if they did have trouble…_ Jim didn't finish his thought because his in-laws had just pulled into the driveway to drop off Jimmy.

*****************

_That afternoon, just after roll call…_

"Reed! Where's that partner of yours? It's not like him to be late." Mac questioned with a look of disgruntlement in his eyes and gruffness in his tone.

"I don't know, Sarge. I tried calling him earlier, but there wasn't any answer."

"Well didn't you and Jean go camping with him and Jillian, this weekend?"

"Yeah, Mac, we did, but Jean and I had to come back early…she got a really bad case of poison ivy so we drove home yesterday. Pete and Jillian were going to ride back with Roy and Leah this morning, but like I said, when I tried to call them, I didn't get any answer. There wasn't any answer at the DeSoto's or the Gages' house, either."

"You think everything is okay?"

"I don't know…I'd like to drive up that way and look for them."

"Well, I'm afraid that I can't spare you right now, with Pete not here, and Wells calling in sick, I'm already two men short. I'm going to have to put you on the desk, as it is, but at least you can phone the forestry service and make sure that there weren't any reported accidents or anything. That's the best I can do right now, though. I'm sorry."

Jim nodded in understanding, "I understand Mac; like you said, at least I can make a few phone calls, in the meantime."

Within the first half-hour of the shift, Jim had news from the Forestry Division that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. He'd found out that a prison bus, carrying three prisoners and two guards, had gone off of the road leading up toward the Red Rock Canyon area, just two hours Northeast of L.A.; the very area where he and Jean had passed the prison bus the morning before. The ranger that he spoke with said that the three prisoners had escaped and had taken the prison guards' weapons. Jim's fear for the safety of his friends continued to rise, and he had a very bad feeling in his gut.

Going down to Mac's office, Jim knocked before going in. "Mac, I just got off of the phone with the Forestry Division. A prison bus went off of the road yesterday morning, up near where we were camping…three prisoners escaped, and at least two of the three are armed…they took the guards' guns. I think Pete and the others may be in grave danger, Mac; you have to let me go up there."

Mac asked Jim a few more questions and then consulted with the Lieutenant, who authorized him to call in a replacement for Jim. Hanging up the phone, he turned to Jim,

"The Lieutenant said I can cut you loose as soon as your replacement gets here. I'll call someone in now. In the meantime, get back on the horn and alert the Forestry Division of your suspicions and find out who you are supposed to hook up with when you get up there. Neither the Lieutenant, nor I want you going in there alone. The Rangers will have a more detailed idea of the area, as well as the easiest, most undetectable way to get in and out without being seen. One thing's for sure, if Pete and the others ran into them, they are bound to be in trouble and there's no telling what three escaped convicts might try in order to keep from going back to prison."

Jim nodded his understanding and turned to head back to the desk as Mac picked up the phone and began trying to find a replacement.

An hour later, Jim was on the road and headed up to the mountains. He couldn't shake the pit that had formed in his stomach, and deep down, he knew that his friends had found trouble. The drive up to the mountains was one of the longest two-hour drives that Jim had ever had to make.

After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled in to the Ranger Station that sat at the base of the mountains and went in and introduced himself.

"Hi there; I'm Officer Jim Reed with the Los Angeles Police Dept. I'm supposed to meet up with Ranger Coon. Is he here?" Jim asked the receptionist at the desk.

She flashed him a smile and said, "Ranger Coon is expecting you Officer Reed, please step this way." She then led Jim down a long hallway and off to the right, where she knocked on a partially open door.

"Yes, Betty?"

"Ranger Coon, Officer Reed, from the Los Angeles Police Dept. is here to see you."

Ranger Coon stood up at his desk, "C'mon in, Officer Reed." He extended his hand and Jim grasp it, giving it a quick shake. "Would you care for a cup of coffee, while we discuss the situation?"

"Yes, that would be fine, thank you."

"Betty, would you please bring Officer Reed a cup of coffee with…."

"Just black, please." Jim provided.

"…black coffee; oh, and if you don't mind, I'll have one with cream and sugar."

Providing the gentleman with another smile, "Sure thing; I'll be right back." Betty turned and left the office, coming back several minutes later with two steaming cups of coffee. She set them down on the desk and then took her leave.

Ranger Coon turned to Jim, "Now, Officer Reed…"

"Just call me Jim, please."

"Very well; I'm Rick, by the way."

"Look, Rick, I don't mean to be rude, but all of this formality is taking too long. I think my partner and his wife, and four other friends are in danger. I need your help in going up to the campsite and checking around." Jim wasn't about to waste any more time than he had already.

Leaning forward, with his arms crossed in front of him, "Listen Jim, I can certainly understand your concern, but you must try not to jump to conclusions. We don't even know for sure if the convicts are in these mountains; could be that you friends ran into some car trouble or something."

"Well, did they come down to check out this morning?" Jim questioned; knowing it was the normal thing for a camper to do when leaving the campsite.

"I've already checked the records, and no, they didn't; but that still doesn't prove anything, you know; they may have just forgotten…it's happened."

"I'm aware of that, but I also know my partner. He was supposed to be at work today. If they would have had car trouble, Pete would've called the station and let our Sargent know that he was delayed and why. No, my gut's telling me that something's not right."

"Well, Jim, if there's one thing I have learned over the years, you gotta go with your gut. Let me put in a few calls, get some of the local law enforcement up here and we'll head out. I do have to tell you though, with the days beginning to shorten, we are only looking at a small window of daylight left, today. Once it gets dark, it's going to be impossible to see, and not _be _seen, if you get my drift."

"I realize that, Rick, but we have to try. I'm prepared to travel in the dark, if we have to. I have to find out where my friends are and I need to know that they are okay."

Ranger Coon made his phone calls and within the hour there were four teams of two men each, ready to go in and scour the camping areas. Jim teamed up with Ranger Coon, setting off in the general direction of where they had been camping.

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon. In order to maintain the element of surprise on their side, they had decided it was best to leave the vehicles at the base of the mountain and hike in on foot. Jim, thinking that they might need some extra equipment, had taken the climbing gear from the trunk of his car and was lugging it along.

As they climbed upwards, they could hear male voices off in a distance. Jim stopped short and held up a hand towards Rick. "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah…could be other campers, Jim."

"Just the same, let's not announce that we are in the area until we know for sure." Hiking in a little closer, "Can you make out how many different voices there are, Rick?"

"I hear at least two different voices…no wait, I hear a couple of others, too. Do you hear any that you recognize?"

Shaking his head back and forth, "No…not yet. Let's keep heading that way."

The closer they got to the camp area, the more prominent the voices became. "What are you pretty little ladies gonna fix for 'ole Smitty and the boys, hmm?"

"They aren't going to fix you anything. If you and goons want to eat, fix it yourself." Pete growled, in a no-nonsense tone.

Smitty, having had enough of Pete, pointed his gun toward him, "You know, I've had about all I am going to take from you. You're more trouble than your worth." He cocked the gun and looked ready to pull the trigger.

Blanching, Jillian suddenly stood up from the chair she'd been sitting in, causing Smitty to swing his attention from Pete to her. For the second time in forty-eight hours, Jillian found herself doing the very thing that had, at one time, been second nature to her; she was doing whatever needed to be done, in order to stave off a volatile situation. It wasn't something that she'd had to do since falling in love with Pete, and she found herself silently praying that she hadn't lost her touch. "How about some grilled hot dogs and baked beans for dinner tonight, fellas?" Her heart was beating at a breakneck pace, threatening to make her stomach rebel and lose what little she had eaten earlier in the day.

Smitty gave her a snaggle-toothed leer, "Now aren't you just the little hostess. Why, you was the one that offered us the food yesterday when we came into the camp all hungry and tired."

Looking over at April, "You…get over here and help…what's your name, doll?" He directed toward Jillian.

"Jill." Her reply was barely audible as she sent up a silent prayer of thanks that Smitty's focus was now off of Pete.

"Yeah, get over here and help Jill fix us some dinner. You can fix enough for everyone…we'll have us a party." Sparing Pete another scathing look, Smitty added, "It's a good thing for you that _someone_ in this camp is friendly. If I had my way, I'd just as soon shoot you as look at you, but I won't do that to these pregnant ladies 'cause it might 'cause them some undue distress to see their friend being gunned down."

Pete continued to glare at Smitty for a few seconds before averting his eyes to the ground, thinking, _God I hate seeing them wait on these degenerates; I've gotta find some way to get to my gun in the woods. And when we get out of this mess, I'm going to ring Jillian's pretty little neck for…for what? For possibly saving my life, just now? Okay, maybe I won't ring her neck, but we're gonna have one long talk about this!_

Casting a quick glance in Pete's direction, Jillian could see that Pete was less than pleased with her at this point. _Oh boy, he's pissed at me now. Well if he thinks that I am just going to stand here and watch him get shot down in cold blood by some maniac, he's got another think coming! _

With the intensity of the moment passed, for now, Jillian and April made quick work of roasting hot dogs and heating up the beans for everyone. The convicts wolfed their food down, while the others merely picked at theirs.

"I'll do up the dishes since they cooked." Leah offered, starting to get up from her seat, next to Pete.

"No, you stay where you're at…you, and…you." Smitty waved his gun towards Johnny and Roy; "You two do the honors of cleaning up."

Neither man said a word as they rose slowly from their chairs, casting quick glances at the others, and then turning their attention to gathering and cleaning up the dishes. "We'll need to head to the creek to wash these off." Johnny stated.

"Oh that's just fine. Jonesy here would love to take the two of you to the creek; isn't that right Jonesy? You'll just go with them and if they try anything funny…shoot 'em."

"Yeah…I'll take 'em to the creek." He then pointed his gun at Roy and then Johnny, "And if they make one false move…BOOM…right 'tween the eyes on both of them."

Leah instantly paled and flinched; April drew in a sharp breath and put her hand over her mouth. The actions of the two weren't lost on Smitty as he looked at them. He knew that Johnny and April were a couple, so he could understand her reaction. What he didn't understand was Leah's reaction. Letting out a sick laugh, Smitty said, "What ya getting' all upset about there, sweetheart…at least it ain't your man being threatened this time."

"I just don't like the idea of my friends getting hurt, is all." Leah smoothly supplied, hoping that she hadn't done anything to give away the façade that she and Pete had created.

Seemingly satisfied with the answer that she provided, Smitty told Jonesy to take Roy and Johnny on down to the stream. He then turned toward April and Jillian, "You two, go sit down…you've been on your feet long enough."

Neither woman said anything as they took seats, April next to Leah and Jillian next to Pete, but not before making an issue of moving her chair just a little bit away from him, earning her a questioning look from him. He figured it had something to do with keeping up the appearance that she and Roy were a couple, especially after Leah's reaction nearly let the cat out of the bag.

The remainder of the evening was spent sitting tensely around the fire. As was the night before, when the girls could no longer keep their eyes open, they were ordered off to Pete and Jillian's tent, and once again, Smitty dictated to the men where each one was to sleep.

It was going to be another long night.

*******

Hidden in the thickness of the bushes, about fifty feet from the camp, Jim looked over at Ranger Coon and nodded his head in an affirmative motion. They had found the camp, confirming Jim's worst fears; the three escaped convicts were holding his friends against their will. Now all they had to do was figure out how to get them out of there.

Motioning for Jim to follow him, Rick started back in the direction that they had come from; he wanted to get a few hundred feet away from the camp before he and Jim started discussing a plan of action.

Whispering quietly, Rick asked Jim, "Did you see all of your friends? Did they look okay?"

"I got a good view of the three women and Pete; they are sitting around the fire ring. I saw one of the convicts holding a gun and waving it around. He was the one giving orders."

"See any another guns?"

"Yeah, the guy that was behind Johnny and Roy had one. They were headed to the creek. Looked like Johnny and Roy were carrying plates and cups."

"Probably cleaning up from dinner. That could work to our advantage…full bellies tend to make people lethargic…especially as the sun goes down. At least if they are sleeping, they aren't threatening your friends. Now, what about the third guy, did you see him?"

"Yeah, he was sitting over near a tree, nodding off. I couldn't tell if he was armed or not."

"I'm assuming that your partner carries an off-duty weapon, correct?"

"Yeah…it's required; if I know Pete, though, he's not shown his hand. They must not know that he's a cop or they would've tied him up…or worse."

"How about the girls? You said two of them are pregnant?"

"Yeah, Pete's wife is carrying their first child and April is pregnant for her and Johnny's second. Both women are about five months along." And then as an afterthought, "Leah and Roy already have a set of twins."

"Now Johnny and Roy; they are L.A. County Paramedics, right?"

"Yeah."

"So chances are pretty good that they have been in hairy situations before and will know how to handle themselves when the shit hits the fan, so to speak."

"Uhm, yeah…and don't sell the women short, either; all three of them have been in some pretty tough spots before, too. Jillian and Leah both had psychotic ex-boyfriends that tried to hurt them, and April pretty much went through the experience right along with Leah…they are best friends."

"Okay, that's good to know; they will know to keep their heads low and not to provoke those convicts." Ranger Coon knew that rescuing the group wasn't going to be easy, but he was confident that at least they wouldn't be dealing with hysterical females during the rescue, and for that he was thankful.

"So, how do you think we should do this?" Jim asked.

"Well, you know the way the camp is laid out; any special areas that we need to know about; hot spots where we might easily be spotted the way things are set up?"

"I think if we go in from the back of the tents, in the 'little boys' woods, we can possibly get a good drop on them from there." Jim stated.

"The 'little boys' woods?" Rick was smiling at Jim, despite the urgency of the matter.

Smiling himself, Jim explained, "Yeah that's what the girls like to call it. They are all too feminine to refer to it as nature's big toilet, and they didn't want the guys to walk in on them, so they designated one half of the woods as the 'little boy's' side and one as the 'little girl's' side."

Rick rolled his eyes, "Now I've heard it all. Okay, we'll go in from the back. I think the first thing we need to do is get those girls out of there; especially the two pregnant ones."

"If I can catch the attention of one of them, I can motion for them to come into the woods. I have the climbing gear with me and if we can get them to the drop off that's about a quarter mile from the camp, they can repel down the side, to safety."

"You think they can do that, with being pregnant?"

"I think they can; question is, whether or not they will. Jillian is terrified of heights and I heard April telling Johnny that there was no way she was going to go dangling from a rope."

"Well, the main thing is, we need to get them away from the camp. How do you feel about sleeping at the base of the mountain tonight…it's going to be too dark to pull off any rescue operation in a just a bit. I have a two-man tent in the truck down below. We'll set up there and let the others know what's going on. They should be back down there by the time we get there. We'll start out again tomorrow, just before sunrise."

"I just wish there were some way we could do this yet tonight." Jim uttered.

"I know, but it's nearly dark and you can't expect those girls to go stumbling through the woods in the dark. It'd be too dangerous, especially in their condition. You wouldn't want to take the chance of one of them falling and hurting themselves or the baby, would you?"

Jim knew that Rick was right; he didn't like the idea of Pete and the others being subjected to the convicts any longer than necessary, but he knew that Pete wouldn't want him to jeopardize the girls' health, either. "You're right…it'll be best to wait for first light.

Heading back down the mountain trail, towards Rick's vehicle, Jim made a mental note to ask one of the other searchers to phone Mac and fill him in.

Once all of the searchers had re-gathered, Rick filled them in on the plan. Jim had given one of them Mac's number and asked him to call and let Mac know what was happening. After the other searchers left, Jim and Rick set up the tent and spent a long night waiting for sunrise.


	4. Chapter 4

A Camping We Will Go

(Part 4)

First light dawned bright and early. Jim and Rick packed up their camping gear and gathered together the essential items that they would need for the planned rescue. Several other rangers and rescuers had come back up the mountain to assist in the rescue operations, and were gathered around anxiously awaiting instruction.

Not wanting to take any unnecessary chances, Jim pulled Rick aside and spoke quietly, saying, "Rick, I don't think it's a good idea for all of us to go traipsing up there. We are bound to make too much noise and I don't want to tip them off in any way."

"I understand, Jim. I'll have the others stay back here with a portable. We'll radio them and have them move in once we've gained control of the camp."

"Sounds good. How soon can we move out?"

"Let me go tell them the plan and get a portable."

Jim and Rick set off up the mountain. They were stealthily quiet in their ascent and were soon well hidden in the wooded area to the back of camp. Jim had a perfect view of the campsite and all that was taking place. Rick had moved farther into the woods where he would stay in order to assist the women in getting down from the mountain without detection.

Similar to the last evenings' arrangement, everyone except April and Jillian was sitting around the fire ring. The two women were fixing bacon and eggs over the campfire as a pot of coffee sat sizzling on the fire grate.

After having been stooped beside the fire ring for several minutes, Jillian slowly stood up, rubbing the small of her aching back. As she did so, a small bit of movement in the woods, just beyond the tents, caught her eye. Immediately she focused on Jim, as he motioned for her to make her way into the woods. She wasn't sure just what Jim had planned, but he pointed toward April as well.

Clearing her throat, Jillian shifted her gaze to Pete and then looked off into the woods. Pete seemed to know immediately that something was up. Making an issue of tending to the bacon again, Jillian cast a sideways glance toward Pete; he was the only one to see her silently mouth 'Jim' as she glanced toward the woods. The small twitch that Pete made with his mouth told her that he understood; Jim was in the woods. Deep down he knew his partner would come to the rescue, especially when he didn't show up for work the previous day.

Standing up and making a show of stretching, Jillian cast April a quick glance and then looked toward the woods. She hoped that April would follow her lead. "Excuse me." She directed toward Smitty.

"Yeah, what d'ya want?"

"I need to use the, uhm…the facilities. The baby is laying on my bladder…again."

Just as Smitty was ready to reply, April chimed in, "Oh, I am so glad that you asked, Jillian…is it okay if I go too?" The two pregnant females looked so pathetically miserable that Smitty found himself agreeing to let them go together, but not with out an escort.

Johnson, who hadn't said a lot, or done a lot, for that matter, sat staring into the fire as if mesmerized by the burning embers of wood. "Johnson, git your head out of your ass and pay attention to what's going on!" Smitty bellowed.

Startled back into the present, "What…I know what's going on! Why you yellin' at me like that?" Johnson replied.

"I said, take these two to the woods so they can 'relieve' themselves."

"Okay. You want me to take a gun? If so, you're gonna have to tell Jonesy to give me his."

"They're a couple of pregnant women…if you can't handle them without a gun, then you ain't half the man that you think you are. What the hell are you afraid they're gonna do, knock you down and sit on ya? Now _git!_"

Johnson cast an angry look at Smitty but said nothing. He then looked at the girls, "C'mon, let's go." He said, motioning for them to take the lead and head into the woods.

Jim, seeing that they were headed his way, ducked out of site and just as they passed where he was crouched, he stood up and placed a crashing blow across the back of Johnson's head; the convict pitched forward soundlessly. Jim quickly bound and gagged the convict and then drug him out of the way so that he couldn't be seen by anyone entering the woods. April and Jillian, both with silent tears of fear streaming down their faces, threw their hands over their mouths to keep from making a sound. Jim quickly ushered them several hundred feet deeper into the woods where Ranger Coon was waiting for them.

"You two okay?" Jim asked them as he turned them over to Rick.

Both nodded.

"Jillian, does Pete have his gun?" Jim asked in a whisper.

"No, but I think that he knows where I put it in the woods; I had to get it out of the camp so the convicts wouldn't find it. It's under the bush that he put the snake under."

"Good girl. You don't know for sure if he's gotten it though, right?"

"No, I don't think he's had a chance to. They've been riding him since they came into camp."

"Do they know that he's a police officer?"

"I don't think so. They haven't taken anybody's wallets or anything, so they haven't seen his badge or identification. Also Jim, Pete and Leah have them thinking that they are married and that Roy and I are a couple."

"Probably for your safety and the safety of your baby, no doubt. If they were to find out that Pete's a cop and that you're his wife, you wouldn't be safe."

"Tell me something that I don't already know, Jim." Jillian stated in a low, worried voice, as her hand went protectively to her stomach.

"Okay Jillian, think real hard and give me any details that you can, about the convicts." Jim queried.

"The one that calls himself 'Smitty' seems to be in charge. He's got a gun and I don't think that he'll think twice about using it. Thing is, I don't think he's half as psychotic as the other guy, who also has a gun."

"What's the name of the other guy?" Jim asked.

April answered, "Jonesy…and he's got a gun too! He's seems crazy enough to use it for no reason, too. He keeps waving it around and making threatening gestures with it."

Jim reached out and gave the women a slight hug, "Don't worry you two, we're gonna do everything we can to get everyone out safely. Pete, Roy and Johnny are big boys and can hold their own; and I know that none of them are going to let Leah get hurt, either. The main thing is, with the two of you out of there, everyone will be able to concentrate better on the task at hand."

Jillian pulled away and nodded. "How are you going to get Leah out of there?"

"I'll think of something, don't worry."

"Be careful, Jim."

"I will."

She and April then followed Ranger Coon farther into the wooded area and out of harms' way, but not before showing Jim where Pete's gun was hidden.

Jim headed back towards the camp, figuring that he'd have to disguise his voice and somehow get Smitty to let Leah come into the woods, too.

About the time he was thinking of how to get Leah into the woods, Smitty yelled out in a booming voice, "Johnson, what's taking so damned long in there?"

Clearing his throat and disguising his voice in low tones, Jim replied, "Nothin'…shy bladders."

"Yeah well, these others need to go too, so I'm sending Jonesy in with the loudmouth first." He was referring to Pete, which obviously caught Pete off guard as he raised his eyebrows in a questioning look toward Smitty, who then continued to yell, "You send those two pregnant women out as soon as they're done…don't rush 'em, though."

"See," said Smitty, "the way I figure it, you seem to be the top dog in this little group so I figure you will go do your business and get back here right away…or I start shooting hostages…and I'll start with your little lady, there." Smitty then pointed his gun toward Leah, who just glared at him.

Jim hurried over to the bush and retrieved Pete's gun. Figuring that Pete would ask for a bit of privacy, and after hearing the threat that Smitty made, Jim counted on Jonesy giving Pete the privacy he would want, knowing that Pete wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the others. Jim knew that he could get Pete's attention and then slip him the gun.

Carefully hidden in the bushes, Jim watched as Pete and Jonesy appeared in the woods; he could see Pete scouring the area in search of him and silently willed Pete to look his way. It took several seconds for Pete to focus in on Jim's whereabouts. He then turned toward Jonesy and said, "Uhm…mind if I have a little privacy? Some things just don't need to be shared, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah…go ahead, but if you don't hurry up, Smitty is gonna get inpatient…if you know what I mean."

Pete quickly moved off into the woods just a little further, checking behind himself several times to make sure that he wasn't followed. He found Jim quickly and Jim handed over Pete's off duty weapon. Pete was whispering and firing questions at Jim a hundred miles a minute. "Where are the girls? Are they okay? And where is the other convict?"

"He's out cold and tied up; the girls are with Ranger Coon, several hundred feet in. They are both fine; they're a little shaken, but otherwise okay. We're gonna have them repel down the backside of the mountain.

"What's taking you so long, hero?" Came Jonesy's menacing voice.

"It's been awhile, do you mind?" Pete returned.

"Just hurry up!"

Pete continued to whisper to Jim, "Here's the scoop; Jonesy and Smitty are both armed with handguns. It's not going to take much to set Smitty off and Jonesy isn't all that stable, either."

"Alright…try to get Jonesy to come back in here alone, and I'll take him out; the ruckus might be enough to distract the other one and you can overpower him."

"I'm sure that when the girls don't come back, Smitty will send Jonesy in to check, so that will be your chance."

"Okay, sounds good…Good luck partner; be careful, huh…Jillian needs you."

Pete smiled slightly and nodded, "Yeah, you be careful too, Jim." Pete then tucked the gun securely into his waistband and covered it with his shirt before heading back toward where Jonesy was waiting for him.

"'Bout time you got back. Did you see Johnson and those girls?"

"No, but they probably went to the other side of the woods…more privacy, ya' know?"

"Yeah, whatever; let's just go."

Coming out of the woods, Pete could see that Smitty was becoming very impatient. "What took so damned long to take a piss?"

"Hey, I went as fast as I could, do you mind?" Pete responded.

"Yeah, I hear ya…Jonesy, take the blond guy next; and don't take so long this time."

"Why not let the lady go first?" Roy asked, indicating a gesture towards Leah.

Smitty glared at him, stating, "She'll wait 'til the other two get back. Now git in there and do your business before I decide to just let all of you sit and piss your pants."

Roy stood up and slowly made his way toward the woods with Jonesy following close behind; he had his gun poised and pointed at Roy's back. A few minutes later, they came back and Jonesy escorted Johnny into the wooded area. After they returned, Smitty turned to Jonesy and in an agitated voice, said, "Take this little doll in and let her do her business. While you're in there, find out what in the hell is taking Johnson and those pregnant women so long." As he watched the two head off into the woods, he looked at the three men around the fire and said, "Knowing that dumb ass Johnson, he's probably trying to make the moves on those two girls!"

Hearing Smitty's explanation of what might be going on in the woods, Pete quickly glanced at Johnny in order to gage his reaction. As he thought, Johnny went pale as paste and then turned red with fury at the thought of some filthy animal putting his hands all over his wife. "He'd better not touch one strand of hair on Aprils' head or I'll kill him with my bare hands!" Johnny declared, eyes flashing with anger as he started to rise from his seat.

Smitty cocked his gun and aimed it at Johnny. "Sit down and shut up…Johnson wouldn't know what to do with a _willing_ woman, even if she drew him a diagram, let alone one that was fighting him off!" Then turning his attention to Roy, "You don't seem too worried about your little missus…why not?"

Roy flashed the ringleader a look of hatred, knowing that he would have to make this sound as convincing as possible. "I _am _worried about her, but I don't think she'd want me getting a bullet put in me for reacting irrationally over a comment that was obviously made to upset us." Thankfully, the simple answer seemed to be enough for Smitty.

While Roy had Smitty's attention, Pete glanced at Johnny and mouthed 'Jim' as he slightly tilted his head toward the woods. Johnny quickly got the message and settled back into his seat, the intensity of the moment lessening slightly.

Suddenly, from inside the woods, a ruckus sounded out, catching everyone, except Pete off guard. As they listened to the sounds of yelling and shouting, and then the sound of a couple of gunshots, Pete jumped up from his seat and whipped his gun out, swinging it towards Smitty. "DROP IT!" Pete ordered.

"Son of a bitch! You're a cop; I might have known I smelled pig in the air!" Smitty stated as he slowly lowered his gun. Just as he was about to drop it, Jonesy came flying out of the woods.

"Smitty, it's the freakin' cops!" Seeing that Pete had a gun trained on Smitty, Jonesy took a shot at Pete and missed. That was just enough of a distraction for Smitty to bring his gun back up and aim it toward Pete as well, squeezing off a shot that deeply grazed the top of Pete's right shoulder as he dove to the ground and lost his grip on the handgun. The bullet came to rest in Jonesy's abdomen, since he had been standing directly behind Pete when Smitty took his shot.

When the bullets began to fly, Johnny and Roy both dove for cover and neither one was hurt in the exchange of gunfire.

"Get up copper!" Smitty ordered Pete, gun trained on him. The furry in Smitty's eyes matched the furry in Pete's eyes as he stared down the loaded barrel of Smitty's gun. "I should just shoot you now, pig, and get it over with!" Eyes never leaving Pete, Smitty bent down and retrieved Pete's gun, sticking it in his waistband.

"You do what you think you have to do, but you'd better know that you'll pull the death sentence when your caught…and you _will_ be caught."

"SHUT UP…I NEED TO THINK!" Smitty shouted. "You two," he yelled, motioning at Roy and Johnny, "you two cops, too?"

Glaring at the convict, Johnny's voice was seething with hatred, "We're paramedics."

"Good, then you can help Jonesy."

"We're going to need the first aid kit from the Landrover." Roy told the man.

"Get it…nothing else. You try anything funny and I finish off your friend here, got it!" Smitty spat at Roy as he threateningly pointed his gun at Pete, who was sitting on the ground holding pressure on the shoulder wound.

Roy retrieved the first aid kit and set it on the ground near Jonesy. He then began to assess the gunshot would to Jonesy's abdomen. It didn't look good. Cautiously, Johnny moved over to Pete and was about to take a look at his shoulder before Smitty boomed out "Get away from him…you help your friend take care of Jonesy!"

Johnny glared at Smitty before scooting over next to Roy and helping with the injured convict.

_Just moments before, in the woods…._

Leah had taken cover behind a tree as soon as Jim jumped Jonesy from behind. She had no idea where Johnson or her two friends were, but she assumed that Johnson was out of the picture and that Jillian and April were a safe distance away.

Watching, with her heart in her throat, Leah continued to stare at the two men who were exchanging fisticuffs; she silently prayed that Jim wouldn't be hurt when she saw Jonesy grab his gun off of the ground and pump a few rounds towards Jim. Jim had drawn his gun and answered the unfriendly fire, striking the convict in the right upper thigh area. Thankfully the convicts' shots had not found their target, and as Jim dove toward the ground, Jonesy stumbled out of the woods and back towards the camp.

"Oh my God, Jim, are you hurt?" Leah quickly made her way over to where Jim lay on the ground.

Sitting up and brushing himself off, "No, Leah; are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Jim, thanks. Where are April and Jillian…and Johnson?"

"Oh, Johnson's tied up over beyond those trees and the girls are several hundred feet into the woods, waiting with Ranger Coon; and now, we need to get you back there with them and out of harms' way."

"No, Jim, I can't leave Roy, Pete, and Johnny. Roy's not in any condition to help if things get bad and Johnny can be a little hotheaded at times. Pete's gonna need me in there." Leah started to head back to the camp.

"Oh no you don't Leah!" Jim reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. "Now you listen to me; things are already 'bad' and those men in there got nothing to lose at this point. You are out of there, and you're safe, and that's where and how you are going to stay. Roy, Pete and Johnny can handle themselves. Besides, I need you to help Ranger Coon get April and Jillian off of this mountain…they're going to have to repel down the back side and you have the experience needed to get them down safely."

Leah continued to stare at Jim for a bit longer before shaking her head, "Okay…you're right, of course, they can't go down the mountain by themselves…not in their present conditions."

"Good, now that we've settled that, head straight back and you'll see them in no time; let Ranger Coon know what's going on and tell him that one of the two remaining is wounded, and that there have been shots fired inside the camp too. Tell him that I could use some reinforcements up here as soon as he can get them here."

"Got it…and Jim, be careful." Leah tossed over her shoulder as she headed deep into the woods.

"That's the plan, Leah, that's the plan." Jim muttered to her retreating figure. He then turned to head back towards the edge of the woods so he could monitor the situation at the campsite.

****************

Leah took off in the direction that Jim had sent her so she could meet up with April, Jillian and Ranger Coon. She could see them sitting on the ground off in the distance and so as not to alarm the group called out "Ranger Coon it's Leah DeSoto coming in."

April and Jillian both jumped to their feet and grabbed her in a group hug. Immediately they started hurling questions at her. "How are the guys?" "We thought we heard shots, what happened?" "Are you alright?" "What's going on?"

Leah held up her hands, as if to shield herself from the questions, and addressed the Ranger, "Jim said that one of the two remaining men is wounded, and that there have been shots fired inside the camp, too. He wants some reinforcements as soon you can get them there."

Rick was taking in what she said and asked, "Do we know about the shots fired…" his voice trailed off.

"No; Jim just knows that there is still one armed man, and according to him, who knows what he is capable of. Jim was going in for a closer look when I left."

"Ok then, I need to get down the mountain and get reinforcements, and we have to get them to safety." He motioned toward April and Jillian. "Here's the deal, there is only one road going in, and that is straight through your camp, so that's out of the question. Otherwise, there's only one other way to get them off of this mountain and to safety." Rick said, eyeing Leah, but saying no more so as not to upset the girls.

Leah looked over to April and Jillian who were listening intently, but quietly. Turning back to Rick, "Jim said he brought my gear."

"Yes; I have it over here. I'll start setting up."

Leah nodded her head and approached her friends; with all the seriousness that she could calmly display, she asked them, "I need to know something and I need to know right now; do you trust me?"

Jillian and April looked at each other, confused at the question that their friend has posed to them, and even more so when she repeated, "Do you trust me?"

Jillian spoke first, "Leah of course we trust you." then April, "Yes of course, but what kind of question is that?"

Leah reached out and took the hands of her friends and smiled at them, "Then I need for you to do what I am going to ask you to do. We have got to get you off this mountain; for the sake of you and your babies." Instinctively both girls reached a protective hand to their growing stomachs as they listened. "Johnny and Pete want you safe and they left it to me to see to your safety. If I am going to make sure that you are safe, then I have to get you down off of this mountain."

Jillian's breath caught in her throat when she realized what Leah was going to ask them to do, "No Leah, I can't."

"You mean you want us to repel down on the ropes?" April was asked, with a look of fear in her eyes. "How far down? I don't know how to do that." She looked as scared as Jillian.

"Don't worry about how far, and no, I don't want you to repel. Ranger Coon and I will repel and you will be attached to us; we will take you down the mountain." Still seeing the fear in the eyes of her two friends, "You won't fall, you won't slip, and Jillian, you won't even have to open your eyes at all; you don't have to look if you don't want to.

Jillian tried to hide the quivering in her voice as she asked, "How are we…attached?"

"With a safety harness belt and safety rope; you will be strapped to our harness almost like a back pack. If you can face a group of crazed prison escapees and survive, then this will be a piece of cake. Think of your babies, girls."

Leah didn't get a verbal response from April and Jillian, but they both nodded their heads in agreement. It was decided that April would attach with Ranger Coon and Leah would take Jillian down since she had more experience. She knew that Jillian's fear of heights might prove to be a difficult obstacle to overcome.

They were hooked up on two lines down and two lines, per pair, repelling. Ranger Coon and April were to go first, followed by Leah with Jillian.

After the initial drop over the edge, things were going pretty well until about a quarter of the way down when Leah's line snagged with the safety line, causing a sudden jerk.

"What's wrong?" Jillian screamed.

"Nothing Jill; just stay calm. The rope snagged, but we're fine. I just have to untangle the ropes and then we will keep going." Leah tried to calm her with words, but the tension that Jillian was placing on her neck was causing Leah some problems.

"Jillian relax your grip…I can't breathe." Jillian's panic had taken over to the point that she was not hearing Leah, much less understanding the problem that her fear was causing.

When Leah tried to move Jillian's arm, Jillian she thought that she was going to fall and tightened her hold on Leah, not realizing that she had wrapped her harness strap around Leah's neck.

"Jillian, I can't breathe…"

Jillian's head started spinning and she couldn't understand what Leah was trying to tell her. She felt like the ground was rushing up to meet her and her last thought, just before passing out, was, _I wish Pete were here_! Then, her body went limp.

Leah felt Jillian's thrashing stop, but the harness was still wrapped around her throat, and with Jillian's full body weight pulling against it, she couldn't get any air. _I have to get to the ground…fast_, Leah thought, as she struggled herself to stay conscious.

She unhooked the break on the rope and started a free fall to the bottom of the cliff, feeling the rope burning her as it slid through her ungloved hand. The pain kept her conscious enough to jam the rope break, stopping the free fall about four feet from the ground. The last thing she remembered seeing, as she dangled off the ground, was Ranger Coon standing over her with a knife and then everything went black.

Rick quickly cut the strap and moved Jillian, who was still passed out, over to where April was kneeling. Hastily checking Leah, he said, "She's not breathing."

April gasped for air herself, "NO! Are you sure?" She moved nearer to where her best friend lay, unconscious and not breathing, looking on worriedly as Rick began blowing breaths into Leah, forcing air into her lungs. "Come on breathe, breathe." He muttered.

After a few more breaths, Leah gasped for air and began to cough. Her chest felt as though she had been hit with a demolition ball and she asked in a very raspy voice, "What happened?"

"There was a problem with the rope." Rick said.

"Oh yeah, now I remember. Jill! Is Jill ok?" Leah inquired.

April took her friends' hand as she said, "She's fine; she just fainted. Try not to talk; we need to take care of your hand."

Everything that had happened came back to Leah, "April, tell her it's not her fault." And then she closed her eyes again.

April let out another gasp and turned worried eyes toward Rick.

"She's just resting, don't worry. Look April I have a truck about 50 yards down that road, do you think you can drive out of here without my help?" Ranger Coon asked, and then said, "I have to get back to Jim and the guys, but we need to get Leah and Jillian to a doctor."

"Yes I can drive out if you can get Leah to the truck; Jillian is beginning to stir, I can help her get over to it." April helped Jillian sit up and supported her as she regained her senses.

"What happened? Where am I?" Jillian asked as she held her head, trying to stop the spinning sensation.

"Don't worry Jill, you're on the ground; you're safe." April reassured her.

Immediately Jillian remembered thinking and feeling that she was falling. "Did we fall? Is Leah hurt? What happened?" She asked worried about her friend lying in front of her.

"No, Mrs. Malloy, the two of you didn't fall; there was just a problem with the rope." Rick reassured her, "You just blacked out from the panic that you were feeling. And don't worry, Leah is okay. Now, we need to get the two of you over to the truck so that April can drive you to the ranger station and wait while I go back up to get your husbands."

Ranger Coon picked Leah up and carried her to the truck and placed her on a mat in the back. He then handed the keys to April as Jillian slid into the front seat.

"Just follow this road down about 5 miles; the turnoff to the station will be on the right, then back about a mile; take your time and go slow. With the two of you being pregnant you don't need the jarring and Leah doesn't need and further injuries."

April nodded her head and started the engine as she watched Rick grab a rope and head back up the side of the cliff. Turning the truck around, April began the slow drive the rest of the way down the mountain.

_*****************_


	5. Chapter 5

A Camping We Will Go

(Part 5)

_Back at the campsite…_

Jim stood, well hidden, in the wooded area just behind the tents. He had a birds eye view of everything happening in the camp. Seeing that the convicts had been reduced to one, in number, Jim was contemplating the best strategy for taking out the last convict. As he stood there, waiting for the reinforcements that would be coming soon, Jim watched as Pete sat on the ground and Roy and Johnny hovered over the injured convict.

Roy and Johnny finished doing everything that they possibly could for Jonesy and Roy turned to Smitty, "We've done everything that we can…it doesn't look good. Your friend needs to be in a hospital."

"He's right, you know." Johnny jumped in, "There isn't anything else that we are trained to do. He needs surgery to remove those bullets…especially the one in his gut. Without immediate medical attention, he doesn't stand a chance."

"That ain't my problem. I ain't his keeper and nobody told him that he had to follow me into these woods after the bus wrecked. That was his choice." Came Smitty's cold-hearted reply as he glanced at the unmoving form of Jonesy, on the ground, just mere feet away.

Johnny moved over to where Pete sat in the dirt and began to assess the damage to his shoulder. This time, Smitty didn't stop him.

"I'm fine, Johnny." Pete bristled.

"Yeah, well, why don't you let us be the judges of that, Pete." Roy said, as he moved the first aid box over near Pete and Johnny.

Johnny had cut away the right arm and shoulder material of Pete's t-shirt and was using alcohol wipes to clean the wounded area. Pete grimaced and sucked in his breath sharply, when the alcohol hit the open wound.

"Sorry Pete, we gotta clean it up." Johnny muttered.

"Just do what you have to; I'm fine." Small beads of sweat had broken out on Pete's forehead as he sat there letting his friend tend to his wound.

"Hurry it up, medic…you ain't gonna be doing this all day."

"It'll only take a minute to clean and bandage the wound. Roy, hand me a sterile dressing, will ya?"

Roy handed Johnny the gauze dressing and the first aid tape and watched as Johnny applied the sterile dressing to the now cleaned wound on Pete's shoulder.

"Looks like it grazed ya pretty deep, but I think you'll live." Johnny tried to lighten the situation with his remark.

Pete glanced at him when he was finished, "Thanks, Johnny."

"Yeah, don't mention it."

Smitty, who had been pacing back and forth while keeping a close eye on the three men stopped suddenly when Jonesy began to moan and then started off with a coughing jag that shook his entire body. "Don't just sit there you two…DO something!" Smitty demanded of Roy and Johnny.

Immediately Roy and Johnny were back over by Jonesy and assessing him as best as they could. "He needs a doctor!" Roy re-iterated to Smitty in a sharp voice.

"Well we don't have a doctor out here, now do we?"

"No, but we have a vehicle that runs perfectly fine. You could take it and get your friend to the hospital. If you don't, he's gonna die." Roy's voice held a grave tone as he spoke to the remaining convict. "If he dies, it will be on your shoulders, pal…not ours. We've done all that we can."

The next move that Smitty made was one that none of the three could've expected. He walked over to where Jonesy lay, calmly pointing his gun down at him, and without blinking, he pulled the trigger, ending the coughing spell and Jonesy's life, in one heartless second. He then turned to Roy and said, "I guess that's just one more burden that I'll have to bear, now, wouldn't you say, medic?"

At the edge of the woods, Jim's blood ran cold as he stood watching the scene that was unfolding in front of him and thinking, _C'mon, Rick…where are you man? _Jim knew that he was going to have to make a move soon. The madman that had his friends had just killed a man in cold blood and Jim had no reason to believe that he wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

"You're crazy, you know that!" Johnny commented in an agitated tone.

'JOHNNY!" Roy admonished as he shook his head for Johnny to stop talking.

Smitty turned his gun toward Johnny, "I pulled the trigger once, don't tempt me to pull it again! You got that, medic boy?"

Johnny swallowed hard, his Adams apple visibly bobbing, as he contemplated Smitty's words. "Yeah…I got that."

"Good…now all three you get over here around this fire ring so I can keep an eye on you. Your little ladies may have gotten away and brought help, but I still control this camp; don't make the mistake of thinking that I don't."

Roy helped Pete up and they followed Johnny over to the fire and sat down around it.

"You know you won't get away with this. It's only a matter of time before they storm in here and get you. You're outnumbered and you know it. The girls have gotten away and have gone for help; that much is obvious. You started with three and now you're down to just yourself. Give it up, Smitty; it's gone far…"

"SHUT…YOUR…STINKIN' FACE…UP…COPPER! I AIN'T GONNA TELL YOU AGAIN!" Smitty yelled at Pete as he ran his free hand through his hair. It was easy to see that he was losing control of the situation and he didn't like it one bit.

Sparing a glance towards the woods, Pete caught a slight movement and knew that Jim was standing there watching the whole scene. Pete could only hope that he wouldn't try to play the hero and do something without back up.

Just about the time that Smitty was losing control of the situation, Ranger Coon silently came up beside Jim. The two exchanged a quick glance and turned their attentions back to the scene unfolding at the campfire.

"Rick, we gotta get in there. Pete's pushing that guy too hard and he's gonna turn his gun on him if we don't do something…and fast." Jim whispered with a conviction that sat hard in his gut.

"Does your partner know we're here…watching?"

"Yeah, he knows. I caught his eye a few minutes ago. As soon as we make our move, Pete will know what's happening."

"What about the other two?"

"They'll keep their heads down; Pete will see to it."

"It's your call, Reed; you say the word and we'll go."

"I'll fire shot in the air, that ought to get his attention."

"Listen, before you do, let me position myself so that I can get in behind one of the tents, off to the side just a bit. I can get to him from behind, while your distracting him from here. Maybe I can come up behind him and there won't be any need for gunfire."

"Do you honestly believe that, Rick? I watched the man put a bullet in his friend and finish him off, not two minutes before you got back to me. He's got nothing left to lose."

The worry in Jim's voice wasn't lost on Rick. He knew that everything Jim was saying, was true. "No, I don't believe it will end peacefully, but I figure with you here and me over on the other side, he can't aim at both of us, and them, all at once. One of us is bound to get him if it comes down to gunfire."

Jim watched, and waited, until Ranger Coon was in position and had taken cover behind the tent that was farthest from the fire. Jim then he fired a shot into the air, causing Smitty to turn his attention, and his gun, towards the woods where Jim was hiding in the thickness of the trees.

Just as Jim thought he would, Smitty fired into the woods. At the same time, Pete yelled, "Johnny, Roy…stay down" as he made his next move; he launched himself towards Smitty, slamming into him, full force with all his body weight, causing Smitty to stumble backwards and lose his balance. As he fell towards the fire ring, he randomly fired a shot, just barely missing Johnny. In the same instant, both Jim and Ranger Coon made their move into the camp, guns drawn and ready to fire.

"FREEZE! Drop the gun or you're a dead man!" Jim yelled, gun pointed at Smitty's chest.

Smitty knew he didn't stand a chance. He dropped the gun and lay still, glaring at Jim the whole time.

Pete rolled off to the side, and into a sitting position, holding his shoulder, which was fairly screaming with pain. The wound had begun bleeding again and a red blotch was staining the bandage, as Johnny and Roy both made their way over to him and were checking him over.

"You guys okay?" Pete asked Roy and Johnny.

"We're fine, Pete; you just sit still and let us get that bleeding stopped." Roy told him.

"It's fine. It's just a scratch, remember."

"Uh Pete, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but scratches don't bleed that badly." Johnny admonished as he watched the red continue to spread over the once white gauze.

Glancing down at the bandage on his shoulder Pete thought of Jillian, and how she was probably going to react to this latest close call. Groaning, he looked toward Jim, "What took ya so long, partner?" Pete asked, with a wry grin.

"Oh I don't know; I guess you looked like you had it all under control so I didn't figure I'd ride in and rescue you until you found yourself in hot water." Jim replied, with a mile wide grin. He was glad that his partner and best friend, as well as his other friends, weren't much worse for the wear.

"Are the girls okay?"

"They're fine; Rick helped Leah get them down off of the mountain and then came back to help me rescue you three".

Ranger Coon had gone over to the convict and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him to his feet. He quickly read him his rights and cuffed him, and then called on the hand radio that the suspect was in custody and that the camp was secure. He requested the Park Ranger bronco and the coroner. He also requested an ambulance for Pete, who protested the need for one.

"I'm fine; I don't need an ambulance and I can ride down in the Landrover."

Turning Smitty over to Jim, Ranger Coon spoke into the radio and ordered the ambulance to wait at the Ranger Station. He then turned to Jim, "As soon as the bronco gets up here, we'll head down the mountain. In the meantime, I'll get a Ranger up here to stay with the body until the coroner gets here." He then called in on the radio for further assistance at the campsite.

Within minutes, the Park Rangers' bronco pulled up and two rangers got out and walked over to Ranger Coon, who instructed the two to stay at the campsite with the body while he and Jim took Smitty and Johnson, who was still tied up in the woods, down in the bronco.

Johnny and Roy helped Pete into the Landrover and then headed down the mountain behind Jim and Ranger Coon. At the Ranger station, they got out, anxious to find their wives.

April launched herself into Johnny's arms, tearfully clinging to him as he whispered comforting, sweet words of his undying love for her and kissing away her tears.

A few feet away, Jillian stood, watching as Pete got out of the Landrover. Immediately, her eyes landed on Pete's wounded shoulder. The emotional turmoil that she was feeling at that moment, she held in check, as she slowly walked toward her husband.

From where he stood, carefully scanning her face, Pete could tell that Jillian was trying very hard to keep her composure as she made her way over to him. When she finally reached him, standing just mere inches from him, she looked into his eyes. As one single tear slid down her cheek as she encircled his waist with her arms, and simply stated, "I love you, Pete."

He enfolded her small frame with his good arm and hugged her tightly to his chest, "Oh Sunshine, I love you so much. I'm so sorry things turned out the way they did. It sure seems like trouble likes to follow us, doesn't it?"

She pulled away slightly, smiling up at her husband, eyes shining with love, "I would rather live with a little trouble following us, than to live even one second of the rest of my life without you, Pete."

A few feet away, a very confused Smitty was watching the two couples embrace. He wasn't quite sure just what he was seeing, "Well I'll be damned, you mean it's the little one that belongs to him and _not _the dark-haired one?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes, you probably will be damned for the heinous acts of violence that you've committed." Jim stated, matter-of-factly, as he took Smitty by the arm. "And since you're going back to prison, you'll have a lot of time to reflect on those acts." Jim added, as he led Smitty away from the tender scene of the couples reuniting.

Roy looked around, "Speaking of the 'dark-haired one,' where's Leah?"

Ranger Coon spoke, "Roy, I didn't want to say anything on the way here, but there was an accident; Leah is inside and we have called an ambulance for her and Pete."

"An accident? Is she alright? What happened?" Roy asked trying to stay calm.

"She will be fine" Rick assured him. "There was just a slight problem when we were taking the girls down the cliff to safety."

Jillian released her arms from around Pete's waist and walked over and said, "Roy, it's my fault. Leah was repelling me down and my fear of heights caused me to panic."

April went and put her arms around her friend, "Jillian, you heard Leah tell you herself, that is wasn't your fault; the line snagged, that's all, you couldn't help it."

"But I nearly strangled her to death with my harness."

Ranger Coon stepped in to explain, "The rescue line tangled and Mrs. Malloy became frightened and blacked out. Leah had to free fall because the line was around her throat. She went unconscious, but not before halting the fall about 4 feet from the ground. We had to get her breathing again. She also suffering from severe rope burns on both of her hands."

Roy was taking in what was being said and instantly his paramedic mindset kicked in, "Johnny?"

"Right Roy, I'll get my bag from the truck and meet ya inside."

"Thanks." He started to turn to go into the station but paused and placed his hands on Jillian's shoulders, "Jillian, Leah was right; it wasn't your fault, it was an accident…and thank you."

"Thank me…for what?" Jillian questioned.

"For caring, and for being a dear friend." Roy smiled, then turned and trotted into the cabin to check on his wife.

Pete walked over and took Jillian in his arms. Together they looked toward the Ranger station, where, through the window, they could see the tender exchanges taking place inside; Roy was holding Leah, and Johnny had his arm around April.

Jillian placed her arms a little tighter around Pete's waist. "You know what, Pete?" She asked him.

"What's that, Sunshine?" Pete asked as he gazed into Jillian's eyes.

And as the sun was setting on the tender scene of the three couples reuniting Jillian looked up lovingly at Pete, "We are so blessed to have such friends."

Pete bent his head low, placing a tender kiss on his wife's lips, "Yes we are, Sunshine, yes we are."

The End

On behalf of malloysgirl and myself, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to read our crossover story. We truly hope that you enjoyed it. As always, we appreciate your time and comments, if you'd like to leave a review.


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